


Lost Souls

by yzunzun



Category: To The Edge of the Sky (Visual Novel)
Genre: Action, Blood and Injury, Cyberpunk, F/M, Fanfiction, M/M, Mild Language, Mystery/Thriller, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 37,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27346654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yzunzun/pseuds/yzunzun
Summary: FOUR (ENZO KANG) X READERIn which you wake up in someone else's body--a girl named Evren--only to find out that she was known deceased among those who knew her a year ago. You could not remember who you were except for your name, making it harder for you to dig into your past as you were caught up with her life.Especially with a cold, intriguing assassin.
Relationships: Five/Eight, Four | Enzo Kang/Reader, Zero/Reader, Zero/Seven | Evren Starwind
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> All characters/members of Phantom Alpha in this fanfic are the original/updated ones used in the game. I do not own any of the characters as they belong to Ajane J.K. Celestin. 
> 
> Oh and if you expect this to be related to BTS (방탄소년단), no, it's not. This is an Enzo Kang x Reader fanfic. I dedicate this to all those fans of our sweet-toothed Four as we wait for the release of the game's Book 2.
> 
> The storyline follows the events after the last chapter in Book 1 of TTEOTS, so if you haven't played the game this contains spoilers but I'll be adding my own twist. Have fun reading!
> 
> LEGEND:  
> ☪ - Four's Point of View  
> ❦ - Your Point of View  
> ❂ - Second/Third Person's Point of View

> 𝚆𝙴𝙻𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝙿.𝙷.𝙰.𝙽.𝚃.𝙰.𝚂.𝙼.
> 
> 𝚆𝙴 𝚆𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝚀𝚄𝙴𝚁𝚈 𝙳𝙴𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙻𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙲𝚄𝚁𝚁𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚂 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚅𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙵𝙸𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙰𝚂 𝙿𝙴𝚁 𝚁𝙴𝚀𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝙱𝚈 𝙷.𝚀. 
> 
> 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙸𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝙰𝙽𝚈 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙵𝙴𝚁𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝚂𝚄𝙲𝙷 𝙰𝚂 𝙿𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙵𝚁𝙰𝚄𝙳 𝙾𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽. 
> 
> 𝚆𝙴 𝚂𝙷𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝙱𝙴𝙶𝙸𝙽 𝙸𝙽 𝟹. . . 𝟸. . . 𝟷.
> 
> 𝚂𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙾𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴. . .
> 
> 𝙰𝙲𝙲𝙴𝚂𝚂: _𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙳_
> 
> 𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙴: _𝙴𝚅𝚁𝙴𝙽 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙳_
> 
> 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙼𝙴𝚁 𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙲𝚈: _\- 𝙳𝚁𝙸𝙵𝚃𝙴𝚁 -_
> 
> 𝙲𝙻𝙰𝚂𝚂 𝚃𝚈𝙿𝙴: _𝙿𝚂𝙸𝙾𝙽_
> 
> 𝙿𝙷𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙾𝙼 𝚄𝙽𝙸𝚃: _𝙰𝙻𝙿𝙷𝙰_
> 
> 𝙲𝙾𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙴: _𝚂𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙽_
> 
> 𝚂𝙴𝚇: _𝙵𝙴𝙼𝙰𝙻𝙴_
> 
> 𝙸𝙽𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙼𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝚂𝙷𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝙱𝙴 𝙳𝙴𝙴𝙼𝙴𝙳 𝙲𝙻𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙵𝙸𝙴𝙳 𝙰𝚂 𝚂𝙾𝙾𝙽 𝙰𝚂 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝚁𝙴𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙽 𝚃𝙾 𝙿𝙷𝙰𝚂𝚎.
> 
> 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷 𝙳𝙴𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚄𝙽𝙳𝙴𝚁 𝙳𝚁. 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙺'𝚂 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚅𝙰𝙻𝙸𝙳𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽. 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙼𝙰𝚈 𝚂𝙴𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚃𝙴𝙰𝙼 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙱𝙴𝚁𝚂 𝚂𝙾𝙾𝙽 𝙰𝙵𝚃𝙴𝚁. 
> 
> 𝚆𝙴𝙻𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙴 𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝚃𝙾 𝙿𝙷𝙰𝚂𝚎, 𝙾𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝚂𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙽.

❂

_Welcome back, my ass._

The newly renovated atrium of P.H.A.N.T.A.S.M's headquarters came into view, your eyes darting from left to right at the sight of the vast place being filled with staffs and operatives roaming the area, all eyes glued to the glowing screen of their tablet in their hands. Everything was unfamiliar, and this was no different than the entire city of Olympia. 

You were never here. 

And all that mattered to you was finding your true identity, for you were not what PHASe had thought as Operative Seven, or this Evren Starwind, that had managed to return alive. 

"Operative Seven?" 

You turned to see a woman with reserved, yet cold pair of eyes you saw through the ARO glass she wore. Dark hair pinned into a high knot, she lent a hand out. You shook it after a few seconds of hesitation, having a strange feeling of not wanting to trust her. 

The woman formed a hardened smile, that you thought she shouldn't have wasted the effort of doing so. 

"Welcome back to PHASe, Seven. Since you have gone through the intel's identity verification process, you are free to head to your unit and rest of a while. You have a schedule this afternoon with Raske. . . I am mostly aware of the fact that you were found in the streets of Olympia by one of your teammates, Operative Four, yes?" She shook your hand shortly and let go, her eyes scanning the tablet in her hand. You stared at her silently, your lips pressing into a thin line. Her eyes lifted up to eye you irritably. "I asked you to respond, Seven."

"Yes, ma'am." You felt like choking inside as you bit the insides of your cheek after she looked away. Operative Four, huh? Didn't know he's from the same team. . . Whatever these guys call it. 

"I shall be returning to my department, then." She spared you a glance, then turned and set on her heels. "I am glad for you to be back, Seven. I expect that you would not give me another reason for PHASe to get into serious trouble. You are merely lucky it has been a year since KAIROS has been gone for good. Have a meet with your teammates. Surely they are now worried looking for you. After all, no one expected for you to be alive all along."

Your mind was slowly filling with thoughts as her voice faded away into the ambient noise of the crowd. 

_Gosh, that woman's a bummer. Who is she even?_ you thought, your mind snapping back at the vivid memory you had not too long ago, that attractive yet annoying face filling your mind as you stood, blatantly lost amidst the passing of the crowd from here to there. _And what did this body even do before she died? I'm damned. Real damned._

Your eyes closed as you heaved a sigh. _Waking up in a different body, not knowing who I am is the least of my worries for now. I should know what's up with all of this girl's past, before they would suspect me._

_Before they'd find out that the Seven they know isn't Evren, but a different person._

__

A soul that was lost. 

__

_A soul named Y/N L/N._


	2. Transmigration

❦

𝙰𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝟹, 𝟸𝟶𝟽𝟾  
𝟷𝟿:𝟹𝟾 | 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢

Y/N. . . Do it, Y/N.

Avenge us. Destroy everything. 

KILL THEM ALL. 

My eyes flew open with cold sweat trickling down all over my face. I feel my throat so hoarse, my mind spinning and I could sense something was not right the moment I inhaled the toxic scent of smoke and dust. As the shadows that hindered the light from reaching down at me loomed in, I rushed to take in deep, heavy breaths while mustering the last bit of strength I had to rise from the ground. 

Where am I? 

My eyes scanned the area, looking around frantically. The voice in the dream I just had, along with her cold voice, faded as soon as my mind cleared fully to see that I was in a place I was not familiar with. Aside from the neon lights emitting from the buildings and over passes, and the dark alley I was situated underneath, the rowdy noise of the otherworldly city did not contribute any help to the numbness wavering through my body as I let out a soft grunt, holding the side of my head. 

Speaking of. . . 

I looked down. 

What the?!

My eyes widened in shock and disbelief upon having them land down on a strange set of clothing—indigo top and a cardigan, a cloth tied around my hips that was embroidered of astral pattern and ankle-length boots. More than the astounding outfit, seeing my skin tanned of light bronze hues surprised me no less.

What on earth is this? 

I raised my hands all the way up to fumble through wavy strands of hair, dyed of purple and white ombre. I didn't realize I was making unconscious turns, until I stopped out of thought. 

Huh? 

There I could see a different face staring back at me with wide eyes through a reflection that shone underneath the window glass, of what seemed to be a closed repair shop that was just one of a hundred storefronts lining up the gloomy alley. With the seeping dust and fervent heat that lingered in the evening wind, I stumbled backwards. 

My breath hitched. How did I—what on earth? 

Fingers brushing against the window lightly, her eyes were as wide mine, and her mouth was hanging open the same way I was making. 

Who is that—what's going on—

“MOVE OUT!”

As if on instinct, a flash of red light coming from my right illuminated the reflection through my peripheral as the unfamiliar face disappeared, my body plunging forward for me to bend down. A gust of abrupt wind passed behind me that if I didn't act quickly, my head could have exploded. There was a gunshot that sent my eardrums ringing as I calculated my movements: spin around and press my back against the window, eyes flicking at the newcomer's presence. 

The red beam of light was coming from a strange, levitating object, and its laser was directed towards a guy whose back was turned from me, but I could catch his dark suit and hood gleaming in the dark. He had a gun in his hand, the spherical robot shooting lasers toward him but the guy was able to avoid it quickly as he rolled over and moved to a standing position, only for the light to hit the alley walls and windows that it soon left countless, large cracks and wisps of black smoke vaporizing into thin air. 

Before things would escalate further, a flash of metal protruded from the guy's hand as he propelled the blade effortlessly in one swift motion. It dug into the robot's rear side, and then the light it emitted flickered for a moment, before it died out at once. As it fell to the ground with a crash, I realized I had just been standing there, not doing anything. I found myself clearing my throat, my eyes darting toward the hooded guy who turned to face me. 

I could not hide the surprise in me. With my mouth hung open slightly it was far better than any expression to make at the sight of the male's eyes glowing red, that it felt strange to see how similar it was to the light of the robot he destroyed.

Wait. . . Was he trying to save me? 

He took a step forward, his eyes gazed on mine directly that I had to avoid them for they were hypnotizing to be exact; I looked away to the side. I could feel the hairs on my back rise up, not just because of the nervousness that I felt at the idea of not knowing where I was, including this guy, but the robot that had been utterly destroyed still fidgeting on the ground like a dying animal. 

If he really were trying to save me, I caught him pulling his hood down through my peripheral, then that's because the robot was supposed to kill me then? 

I caught his hand moving up to touch his ear, hearing a relatively distinct beep that seemed to come from the tiny black material in his ear. 

“Intruder destroyed. Status. . ." 

Oh, right. He's got a voice. 

". . . Yeah, got it."

Another beep closed in, his hand falling down to the side after. 

I wasn't sure about returning his gaze, but I did it anyway for I found it weird to avoid eye contact. At least the red glow in his eyes had faded along with the gleaming lines streaking up his face of which I found unsettling. I couldn't prevent myself from studying his features, his pair of almond-shaped, obsidian eyes somehow seeing through my soul that I had to remind myself to keep myself calm and reserved, even if it meant being in a different body of which I had no idea how I got into it. 

For sure he expects me to thank him, right? Even if he's some random stranger saving my ass from getting killed by a random robot, whatever. 

I swallow, taking a deep breath. “Thank y—”

“Your location's active." His orbs were focused on me indifferently as he reloaded his gun. I eyed his movement warily but not too obvious for him to notice. “To see my ARO isn't making an error, I hope they're not wrong about this.”

I stared at him, confused. “Uh, what?—”

“I don't want another crap happening so you better not be a fraud.” His gun clicked, having it aimed towards me that made my eyes widen and back up against the glass. 

Now he wants to kill me? What's even up with this guy? 

“Stay where you are and don't make a single move or I'll shoot you.”

I could not help but shuffle to the side in a rush of panic at the drastic change of events for the gun was directed at my forehead. Even though the highlights streaking across his dark hair had me intrigued, the thought of my head to be shot in an instant made me gather up the courage to talk back. “Who are you?”

I waited for an answer, but all I got was an ominous moment of silence as the noise of the city resounded from a distance, with the two of us staring at each other in the midst of a bleak alley. He was still there, and I swore that I saw a bit of hesitation in his wistful eyes for a split second before he returned to his stone faced expression I saw earlier while tightening the grip of his hand on the gun. 

If he were going to shoot me, I should buy myself some time to escape. His eyes went scanning my whole body. There was an odd feeling inside of me but I pushed it aside and regained my stance to face him. I shouldn't show him any sign of weakness. 

“That thing over there,” my eyes flicked over to the robot, “what is it?”

“You sure have a lot of questions upon seeing unusual things, dear Seven~”

Huh? I blinked hard, focusing on the guy before me. He didn't open his mouth, then who said that?

My heart pounded the moment I felt something move near me, but I couldn't see anyone else in the darkness. I spun back to face the guy, who had lowered his gun surprisingly and was looking away, as if he was hiding his face. I took a step forward, only for me to gasp for a hand came snaking all the way to my mouth, clamping it shut. I tried to fight back as my eyes enlarged. Thrashing and swinging my elbows backward, it was no use. My breathing felt like slowing down and I was feeling drowsy and. . . 

The figure of the guy pulling his hood up before he turned away was the last thing I saw, along with the other voice whispering into my ear in a playful tone.

“And we've got quite a handful of questions ready for you.”


	3. Unexpected Return

☪

**𝙰𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝟹, 𝟸𝟶𝟽𝟾  
𝟷𝟾:𝟺𝟻 | 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢**

It felt like a pool of nothingness, having myself lost within a dreamless state and I had no idea how much time had passed since I chose to lock myself inside my room as long as I didn't have any mission. As usual, I was met by silence in the dark room, my eyes staring towards the window. Not out the window, but right at the window. I had been used to waking up at night and sleeping my ass from the daylight since I was frequently given missions at this time, and even though I tried to suppress my augs from turning on by themselves I couldn't hide the strange feeling inside of me.

I just woke up without having any dream, even a nightmare. They had gotten worse day by day ever since that happened. . .

Closing my eyes, I held the sides of my head tight to push the thought away, but the feeling remained. I felt relieved to know my hangover had already disappeared after sleeping so at least it didn't add up to the pain throbbing in my chest. I took a deep breath, and then opened my eyes to ease the anxiety as I let out an exhale. 

_Right, still as tense as ever, Enzo. You're doing a great job, really._

My hands found their way moving to the side, causing me to yelp at a crash. I let out a curse under my breath while I made my way out of the bed to turn the lights on, only to curse even more at the searing numbness on my limbs. To think I must have gotten them stuck under me, I shook away the thought and walked over towards where the crash came from. My eyes landed on an empty bottle laid on the carpet which was broken into pieces, and there was another emptied one on my bed. I sighed in frustration at the sight of vestiges of red stains all over the floor. 

_Dammit,_ I bent down to pick up the chunks of glass after grabbing the bin nearby, hoping I'd get to finish this off quickly. _Remy's gonna kill me. Stupid Eight and his stupid enticements._

A ringtone rang out of nowhere that made me stop and turn to where it originated, placing the bin down and dusting myself off to reach my hand over the nightstand. I placed the device in my ear, clearing my throat before turning the comms on.

_“Evening, Four. Good to know you're up.”_

Thank goodness it wasn't Six.

Hearing the laid-back tone evident in Nine's voice, I was able to ease myself for a few seconds and clear my mind, suddenly forgetting about the mess below me. 

“Yeah hey, just woke up,” I told him while eyeing the lampshade. “Let me guess, they're sending me on a mission again?”

_“Precisely, except for a few things.”_

“Tell me about it.” I moved to stand, heading towards the window and leaning my side against the frame. A good glimpse of the restless city at night from here was one of the reasons I liked this room. I was getting a little carried away at the breathtaking view when I caught up on the next words being said by Nine. 

_“. . . Got a notif from Three about KAIROS.”_

_What in Olympia?_ I was able to restrain myself from shouting out a cuss through the comms, feeling a sense of conscience for Nine but I couldn't help turning away from the window while circling the room in a state of anxiety. I thought they're gone?

 _“I hope you're still listening so hear me out this time."_ He put an emphasis to the last two words. _"Three managed to get more data within Olympia's security premises. He is finally certain of his assumptions of KAIROS activity in the city."_

"Where are they located?" I asked in a demanding tone. I couldn't hold myself together anymore after finding out our suspicions were actually right, when all those times PHASe had been dodging them and calling it a 'result' of the trauma in losing two of our teammates by the hands of KAIROS—no, don't even think about it. 

_They're not coming back._

_“Four."_ Nine's sharp voice upon saying my name caused me to snap out of my senses. _“Are you even listening?”_

I let out a bit of frustration, exhaling deeply. “Sorry, Nine.”

_"You should get moving. Three just reported the most recent one at the moment. In the 13th District, we've got a suspicious target to approach an unconscious citizen near Mortidos Alley.”_

“Unconscious citizen?” I raised an eyebrow. “What are their stats?”

_“Not that we know of. Three and I have been trying to gather the person's background. We still can't figure it out so you need to check it in person, but be careful. Six will come with you.”_

I pushed my confusions about the citizen's status labelled as unknown aside, turning on my heels to grab my gear. “Where is he?”

_“As of now, he is standing outside your door.”_

_Crap._

__

__

_"None of PHASe knows about this, only our team for now so we may avoid any misunderstandings and complications to rise around the departments. Three and I will be with you through the comms to make sure the two of you execute the mission as stealthily as possible. Understood?”_

“Right,” I put my ARO glasses on, “thanks for the heads up.”

_“I'm counting on you two. Be sure to return soon.”_

Placing my hand over the button, I was about to end the call when Nine spoke up again. 

_“I know it has been a year, so I hope you have at least recovered from what happened.”_ He paused for a moment. _“I noticed you are hanging with us even less since then. The rest of the team would always ask Six how you are doing and even I couldn't help but worry. . . Eight told me you got drunk this afternoon, saying he never expected you were the type to push yourself further—”_

“Don't worry about me,” I told him. “Tell the others I'm fine.”

Without another moment's pause I hung up, ignoring the glow of Six's body through the door even as I made my way out. I felt like wanting to shoot myself in the head but that wouldn't look so good especially right after showing up in front of Six, so I chose to walk onwards without looking back as my mind drifted away from Six's voice calling out to me, PHASe's corridors included.

_No one's ever been fine, Nine._

__

__

_None of us have._

°

“Did I just see you, leaving our room after three weeks, not even bothering to look at me?”

I lay my head against the window while glancing at the neon-lit streets and the endless crowd dissipating from here to there as I drummed the hinder part of my fingers against the glass. My inner voice was humming along to the chillstep beats sounding from the rover's stereo but the music died down all of a sudden. Much to my annoyance, I shot Six a glare after turning my head towards him.

He put his hand off the player, this time my escapede having to fail at once that his irritating voice had succeeded to begin invading my mind. 

“You're really hard to read Enzo," Six chirped with a flashy grin. “Your mind's putting too much effort in hiding what you're thinking that it's sooo easy to penetrate.”

“And how is hard any relevant?” I looked away in annoyance.

“The way it's a god-tier level hard makes it a one plus four for me.”

“I can do the maths, thank you,” I mumbled sarcastically, to which sent the Specter laughing hysterically at my unintentional joke as I kept my eyes out of his radar while crossing my arms over my chest. _How can he still joke around like nothing had changed?_

“Being optimistic helps a lot, if you wanna know~”

My brows furrowed. “Are we near the place yet?”

“Just in time." He pulled the brakes with the rover taking to a halt. “I can pretty much hear the call from here, you know.”

“What?” I startled, realizing there had been the Architect's symbol present in my ARO a minute ago. Cursing at myself, I was glad Six didn't note of me slacking off as I answered the call. “Yeah, Nine?”

 _“Got the citizen's status."_ I sensed uneasiness in Nine's voice. _“Well. . . I'm not sure about what Three and I found. I don't think what the data says here is correct.”_

“Huh?” Six and I looked at each other confusingly. 

_"We'll talk about that later. You guys should hurry for the target is only a turn away by now.”_

“Shoot, we gotta go then!” Six pulled his hood on, sparing me a glance with a nod before he proceeded to barge out of the rover. 

As I ended the comms and headed out of the rover, the empty streets where Mortidos was located sent me an unnerving feeling inside of my chest. The gun strapped over me felt heavier than usual, especially with my augs activating automatically after catching a glimpse of Six's hooded figure within the dark entering into the slums. I noticed a different presence through the red glow of my vision, seeing it sitting on the ground with its heartbeat picking up at an unusual pace. My eyes flicked to the left; a hundred meters away from my position was—a floating object? 

_That should be it,_ I thought as I took a sprint into the alley. 

_“Four, double time."_

Nine's sudden voice speaking through my ears sent me fastening my speed that I didn't know I was that near to the target. 

It was a strange, spherical object that floated coming into view as it focused directly in my ARO. I whipped my head to where its laser was directed; at the same time the blinking cursor activated through my screen, my eyes then darting on a purple-haired female who didn't seem to notice the laser aimed at her for she was facing the window. Her vitals, especially her heartbeat, was pounding fast. 

Eyes widening, I felt my heart throb at the sight of her face through the reflection. 

_. . . Evren?_

My augs increased as the gun on my shoulder propelled. 

“MOVE OUT!” I shouted. 

I took a sprint forward but the robot had already shot an orb blasting past her. She ducked before it could pierce through her head. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth, halting in between to block the robot from her and shifting my stance. It was fortunate to have my hood now in case this damned robot had the audacity to read my identity, and now I was able to avoid its lasers shooting toward my direction with me stepping to the side and rolling over, finally finding the perfect moment to strike.

Just as my eyes caught the glowing insignia etched at the robot's back, I flicked and then threw the knife I pulled out from my sleeve towards it. Its light flickered out, crashing towards the ground with a thud.

_Where are you Six?_

Taking a deep breath, I turned around slowly while pulling my hood down, hoping that what I saw was wrong, but it wasn't.

Her eyes, her hair, her lips. . . It was so much the same as if she wasn't dead, as she looked at me with an emotion I couldn't decipher. My augs turned off upon confirming it was her cursor that activated a while ago. She was the citizen then, but how? This couldn't be real. . .

The comms vibrated. I answered it immediately only to wish that I never answered it. When I saw her looking away, the urge in me in running to crush her into a hug vanished at once. 

_“Status report?”_

"Intruder destroyed," I replied. "Status—"

 _“It's her, isn't she?”_ A moment of silence, then I heard Nine take a deep breath. _“Do it, Four. No emotions involved this time.”_

I closed my eyes, a small exhale leaving my lips. "Yeah, got it.” 

Ending the comms, I let my hand fall back to the side, before it came up to reach around the cold handle of the gun. 

“Thank y—”

“Your location's active." I focused my eyes on her indifferently, and that moment I felt so stiff as if I wish I didn't have to do this, but then I pulled it out. I had that undeniable feeling of guilt in me when I saw her eye me warily, and her voice. . . It was—just the same and I. . . “To see my ARO isn't making a damn error, I hope they're not wrong about this.”

She stared at me in confusion. “Uh, what?—”

“I don't want another crap happening so you better not be a fraud.” My gun clicked, having it aimed towards her. Her eyes were widened of fright as she backed up. “Stay where you are. Don't make a single move or I'll shoot you.”

I caught her move slightly to the side, her mouth then opening to speak. “Who are you?”

_What?_

The grip of my hand on the gun loosened. 

_She doesn't recognize me. . ._

Seeing her talk to me like this, was not the first thing I'd ever have wished if she were to come back alive, even if the thought of it was truly impossible. It had been a year since she died and now that she came back under unknown circumstances, every feeling I had forced to push away found their way back to stab my heart again. . . And again. 

“That thing over there,” her eyes flicked over to the robot, “what is it?”

_“You sure have a lot of questions upon seeing unusual things, dear Seven~”_

_Perfect timing, Remy._

I turned away from her just as I sensed Six's figure lurking in the darkness. My mind was searing with raging thoughts as if the gun now felt nothing to me.

She was alive. My feelings for her haven't changed since then, but when she looked at me, it was all so different. 

As if she never knew me 

I pulled my hood on, setting on my heels to bend down before the destroyed robot, my eyes scanning the familiar insignia.

“KAIROS,” I muttered, closing my eyes and exhaling sharply.

Wait 'till PHASe finds out about this.


	4. P.H.A.N.T.A.S.M.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me for being MIA in two months. It took a while for me to get used to navigating Ao3 feature and I'm liking it so far :3 If you wish to browse the completed version of this fic you can check it out in my Wattpad account @pillowsonfire. I'll try my best to update twice or more a day if that helps.

❦

| 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 |

_Bed, bed, bed. . ._

After going on about what seemed like forever in passing through the endless corridors just to reach my room, I could have felt relieved to know that the annoying expression of that cat-faced woman had gone out of my mind, yet as soon as I reached the front of my door, that moment in the alley flashed all of a sudden-especially those eyes. I repressed a grunt when the susurrous voice followed in right after with a hiss as it called my name.

_Who is that?_

_Does it know who I really am? But how?_

_Even telling me to kill?. . ._

_Damn amnesia. . ._ I closed my eyes, shaking my head and then sighing.

The door slid open with a hiss that made me startle. I realized I had been unconsciously touching the sensor with my fingers, not knowing it was capable of reading the combination of this body's fingerprints in an instant. How strange it must have seemed for me to be the only one standing in the corridors, I stepped the thought aside and set my eyes toward the dark room while slightly peeking my head inside. But the thought dawned on me, making me curse at myself with a frustrated sigh for I was thinking there were traps and laser beams set inside, waiting for me.

 _Silly me,_ I thought as I entered the room, the door then closing behind me. No more than a second after there were now glowing streaks of indigo light running across the walls.

_So this is her room._

Eyes darting on the digital clock set on the desk beside the bed-21:10, I made my way towards the vast window that almost occupied the space of the entire wall. I pressed my hand against the glass as I felt my whole body relax upon gazing toward the mesmerizing clearing of the city lights. From what I heard when I went through the intel unit, this city I was in was Olympia, and that this person my soul was stuck in is a PHASe operative. Just one in a thousand people working for the government.

 _Evren Starwind. . ._ An exasperated sigh escaped my lips as I retracted my hand from the glass. Through the focal window, I could still see the faint reflection of her face, looking back at me as bounced off by the lights from outside. _At least she's got a comfy room._

I turned away, having my eyes set in the darkness that I soon got to find comfort with. There was something in this room that just. . . radiated a peaceful vibe, as if it were able to miraculously drive my exhaustion away even at least for a moment. And then after taking a good look around the room one more time, I noticed that the ceiling itself had a distinct group of glowing lights, made of different kinds of constellations scattered throughout that it looked like I was staring right at the sky.

 _She was a drifter, right?_ I pondered to myself. _No wonder she likes the stars. Olympia's really done well in taking away the nature of the world. Those corridors are too much to handle already._

The fatigue in my whole body faded bit by bit with the quiet residing of prominence while I took in deep breaths, even if I knew the anxieties and twisting fear would never cease to rage the turbulence in my mind. It was no use. Waking up in an alley, then the next thing I knew was I was right at the brink of death; that guy with his eyes glowing red they almost looked like a pair of bright rubies-it was strange and-menacing. Him pointing the gun at me made sense, but, was he really that eager to aim it at me? To kill me?

He could've shot me sooner but there was also that other guy behind me, even if I didn't see his face before I passed out.

To think that they were able to capture me that easily, it only gave me a certain matter a fact of how baleful they could possibly become. That was just the tip of the iceberg I had witnessed, what more if I had gotten to their bad side?

I wouldn't want to take the risk.

Out of the corner of my eye, the gleaming digits of the time caught me briefly. I walked towards the desk and sat down on the chair after pulling it. I had a few more minutes to look her team members up before I would head to the command center at nine-thirty in the evening.

_Her desk's so neat, I'm scared of even touching her stuff now._

I turned the tablet on which was displayed at the middle between a stack of folders at one side and a tiny lampshade and picture frame at the other. As the screen turned on in a bright glow of cyan, the photo which held a pair of beaming faces caught my eye for a moment. It was obviously Evren and a taller guy with a darker tan and dreadlocks, who seemed forced into leaning down for she had her arm hung around his neck as she held up a peace sign. Their smiles were nearly identical, but other than that their features were entirely different.

 _Must be her brother._ I returned my gaze at the screen. _I wonder if he's in PHASe too?_

After toggling with the windows and browsing through files for a moment, I was able to find what I was looking for.

"Phantom Alpha," I muttered as I read through the members' brief information which were listed through the website's sleek interface. Most of their personal backgrounds were classified, only the infos related to PHASe were included but then none of their faces seemed to show up. My brows knitted in confusion. "This can't be bug or something. . ."

I leaned back against the chair. So there are eight members: Zero, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine-huh?

My eyes squinted to read at the end of the page.

> 𝑶𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝟕𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑶𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝟐𝟎𝟕𝟕-𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅-𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒚.
> 
> 𝑶𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝑷.𝑯.𝑨.𝑵.𝑻.𝑨.𝑺.𝑴 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝟑𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒖𝒈𝒖𝒔𝒕, 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝟐𝟎𝟕𝟖.
> 
> 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 (𝟎𝟖/𝟎𝟑/𝟐𝟎𝟕𝟖): 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐁𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐌 𝐀𝐋𝐏𝐇𝐀 𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 '𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍'. 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐋𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐀 𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐘 𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐞 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐒' 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒.

_What a perfect time to be famous,_ I sighed in annoyance. _Who's this KAIROS anyway?_

And so to feed the welling curiosities in me, I exited the page and browsed a certain website called Woogle, entering KAIROS and finding millions of results in a second to which most of them were journalism affairs, only published a few minutes ago. I came to a conclusion that KAIROS is an organization of rebels opposing the government's ideals, PHASe in particular.

_Wait, what if they suspected me being linked to KAIROS?_

I jolted off the chair in a state of internal panic, having my fingernails bitten anxiously.

 _Of course they will. . . Ugh, this is driving me crazy._ I lifted my head up to stare at the star-patterned ceiling. _You've got no other options, Y/N. . . You should pretend to be Seven for now._

I turned my head back to the tablet the moment I heard a sound coming from it. A different screen projected, a face of a blond man emerging whose eyes seemed to stare at me with a death glare. Then I saw the name 'Raske' at the bottom right corner.

I glanced at the time.

_21:28_

°

I didn't know what I would call it, but all I can say is that I'm definitely screwed for I was obviously five minutes late, and that included almost getting lost in the corridors and having to deal with a couple of annoying PHASe staff confronting me about siding with KAIROS and being a traitor. I already had too much for this night; ignoring them was the best thing I could do by sending them a glare than wasting my time listening to their gossip.

Finally, I was able to find the command center just after turning another hallway as if it knew I was in a bad mood because of those ladies. I entered the center, which was near as vast as the atrium I first stepped into earlier, and it gave the same intimidating aura especially that three certain people had their eyes set on me. I glanced over behind at the other staff working here who were making a few glances at me. The news of me returning mysteriously was one thing.

My eyes darted toward the three ones of whom had different expressions as they watched me walk toward them. Feeling a huge amount of embarrassment to the blond haired man who must be Raske and a hint of annoyance at that woman, I was surprised to see the third one round the desk and reach out a hand to me with a jolly smile.

"Seven, dear! How are you doing?"

I stared at him, eyebrows raised. "Uh, fine?-"

He unexpectedly took my hand and brought it up to his lips, giving it a quick, soft kiss. Eyes widening, my ears flushed in embarrassment now that Raske and the woman were still eyeing me blankly.

I never anticipated for this whole predicament to happen.

Thankfully, the guy let go of my hand, and that was when I was able to get a good look at him. His puppy green hues stood out perfectly complimentary to his chocolate skin and albicant hair, as if there was an aura of intelligence the moment I saw him as a whole. I stood in front of them awkwardly for I didn't know what to begin with. Say I'm sorry I was late? But I didn't have a good reason for it.

"Give Seven a break, Three."

I turned my head to Raske, hearing his stern voice as he had his arms crossed over his chest. I spared the guy beside me a glance. He's called Three. A teammate, then.

"Enough with the chit-chat." Raske eyed me warily. "She has a lot of explaining to do as said by Operative Six, whether she likes it or not, and being late is the first among what she can count."

_Ugh, here we go. . ._

"Didn't you just say to give the girl a break?" The cat-faced woman had her eyes set on her tablet as if pretending she had no interest in this meeting. It gave me so much confusion to what type of person would waste their time being in a place they disliked, or being with someone they totally were not fond of. I wasn't so sure about feeling a bit better when Raske sent her a subtle glare as the woman stared back at him. I noticed Three also feeling the tension in the air. Now I feel bad for him, he's got nowhere to to look.

"In what grounds, Dr. Park, do you have the rights to dictate on what I do-"

"As far as I am concerned, Sergeant, what I said before is not an act of dictation but mere suggestion. Seven here-" she gestured to me "-received the augmentations from our department, specifically my research. She has just been found by one of our operatives-"

"Two, actually," Three butted in. "Nine and I discovered she was alive and Six and Four went to save from KAIROS. . ." He trailed off when Dr. Park looked at him. "F-Forgive my rudeness, Doctor."

". . . Though most of us here are aware of the fact that Seven is possibly connected to KAIROS having to rise from the ashes, I would like to have her receive therapy first thing in the morning. Let this interrogation be rescheduled till next week, if you don't mind, Sergeant." She turned off her tablet. "After gathering her current stats, she needs to see the psychologist soon. Our operatives' mental and physical health is always first priority in PHASe. It might even help her recover her memories back."

"What? Memories?" Three looked at me confusingly.

Dr. Park glanced at me. "Operative Seven remembers nothing nor who she really is, but that doesn't matter. In the meantime, I would like you to accompany her back to her room since she could have gotten lost on the way here. Losing her ARO before is a different case. A reason why she didn't make it on time tonight."

_Now she's trying to get my trust back. People can really be two-faced, huh?_

She eyed Raske, who narrowed his eyes while avoiding Dr. Park and then turning away to leave. "Three, would you mind if you assist Seven to her room?"

Three brought his hand to his chest while making a slight bow. "A pleasure, Dr. Park."

"Not so fast." Raske returned, now having a pair of indigo eyeglasses in his hand. "You have a few more errands to run for me, Three. She can probably go back on her own now that she has a new ARO."

He lent it out to me, I then taking it and mumbling a 'thanks.'

"Ah, even better." I caught him looking behind my shoulder, so I turned around since Three and Dr. Park were also looking at the same direction.

Seeing him literally just made that memory of him aiming the gun at me flash in my mind, I had to cut the gaze he's giving me immediately.

_"Right timing as always, Operative Four."_

"You could say that." I heard Dr. Park surmise inaudibly. Through my peripheral, Three was waving at him happily, but the sable haired guy only spared him a glance and came walking towards us, his eyes settling on me directly.

"Are you busy at the moment?"

"Fully vacant."

"Good. Kindly bring Operative Seven back to her room. It's an easy job even for a Wraith like you."

Without a word, Four simply nodded before turning away. I got the signal that this guy was a one-word person, taking a step forward when I felt Three taking my hand. I looked up to him.

"Really is nice for you to be back, Seven," he said with a smile. "I honestly feel sad that you don't remember us, but at least you're alive. I wish you to recover soon."

"Um, thank you." _Seriously? That's all I can say?_ "I. . . really have to go now." I glanced toward the doorway, then back at him. "You're a nice person though, Three. I'm being honest."

He chuckled. "I'm flattered. I hope I see you around here, but yeah, you should go. No one wants to keep the Wraith waiting."

"I figured." I made a tiny smile, before waving goodbye to Three and leaving the command center.

Four's the Wraith then, but Three doesn't look like the one who got me unconscious. His voice is too genuine to be that dangerously playful, and besides, his class as Oracle didn't add up to my suspicions.

As I got out, I was met by Four's towering figure with his side profile facing me, his eyes staring at the wall. I didn't know whether I should be the one to let him know we could go now, for I wasn't sure if he already sensed me. But then if I waited standing there, I would like an idiot.

_Should I say something?_

"Let's go."

Gosh! I almost startled of his voice suddenly speaking like that, and the way his eyes shifted towards me with that longing stare again before he turned away and began walking. As I followed behind through the endless corridors, I felt so uncomfortable, and the fact that this guy, including the others, have known Evren made it even harder for me to keep things smooth.

I didn't know how long I could keep up with this unbearable silence filling between us.

He sees me as Seven and not Y/N. Pretend to be Seven, don't do anything stupid-ugh. I sighed frustratingly.

"Something wrong?"

I stopped on my tracks, eyes widening to look back at Four who was staring at me again. My heart was beating fast and my cheeks felt so hot out of embarrassment. "I-Nothing," I stuttered, seeing him still staring at me and now it was driving me insane. "It's just-no, never mind-that's it-you-you're just so quiet!"

I was surprised at my own mouth, seeing him looking at me dumbfounded. However, it seemed like my mouth was at the mood in releasing all my emotions, that I was not able to stop it.

"Aren't you gonna apologize for pointing the gun at me?" I jabbed a finger at him. "You know, I can't even remember what happened and then I find myself waking up in a place I don't know with a stupid robot about to kill me then you just popped out of nowhere killing it before threatening to kill me while a guy came like a flying cow out of nowhere basically telling me to shut up even if that doesn't sound like it and abducting me!" I inhaled sharply. "Do you know how that feels?"

He was still staring at me, making me feel exhausted for having to make the efforts of bursting it all out when he didn't even budge. Pressing my palm to my forehead, I took a deep breath.

"Tea?"

I looked back at him. "Huh?"

He slipped his hands back in his pockets as he exhaled lightly, looking away. "Thought you'd need one to ease your mind."

My brows furrowed. Was his cheeks normally pink? His face was pale a while ago. ". . . Yeah, I need that. Where can I get one?"

"The cafeteria doesn't serve natural ones." He turned back to me. "I. . . have a brewer in my room."

I noticed he had an earring when his head moved, as it was reflected by the light, but other than that, his almond shaped eyes would always get me intrigued and I didn't know where else to look. I then nodded, pressing my lips into a thin line.

He turned to the door at our left and held up his hand at the sensor.

_Oh, we're already here. . ._

The door slid open, and then I looked to see Four standing before it as if gesturing for me to come in first, so I did after sparing him a glance. His room was as dim as my room and it even looked similar to it except that it was darker and didn't have any other color but black.

Four. He wasn't like this when I first saw him with the gun.

_Who are you to Evren, the way she was to you?_


	5. Within These Walls

☪

| 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 |

_"Gotcha!"_

I really needed to give a lot of credit to my ability to repress myself from startling, for I didn't know how many times Six had given me jump-scares only for him to fail once again. Despite the glare I sent him after turning back to spare the command center's door a glance, his brown hues remained focused on me as he formed a lopsided grin. I stepped away from the door, trying to avoid meeting eyes with him and sighing sharply. "Please don't tell me you've got nothing to do but follow me around?"

"What if I've really got nothing to do?" He leaned his side against the wall with his arm crossed over his chest. "Would you mind telling me about your plan on fetching dear Seven to her room?"

" _Shut up,_ " I grumbled. This dude could be so annoying sometimes-no, most of the time. "I'd prefer to have a date with Raske than be with you."

"Oho! Can you tag me along? Paparazzi, third wheel, you name it!" His grin even went wider, his face drawing near as he sent me a wink I swore I could have smacked his face any sooner, but of course I didn't. Looking away, I stared at the plain wall in front of me as I couldn't help but think of her. I heard that right, but. . . my heart just couldn't tell me Seven really has amnesia. I couldn't accept it, even if I clearly heard her question who I was in the alley.

"You know. . ." I started, closing my eyes while I took a deep breath. "I think you should apologize."

I turned to face him without having my eyes looking away, and when I saw the look in his eyes after he certainly read my mind, he let out a chuckle, pushing himself off the wall and then pulling his hood on. "As you wish, Master~"

"Hey, I'm serious." I gave him a stern stare, and being the Specter he was, he'd better consider taking what I said seriously for I really meant it genuinely. "You got her unconscious, Six. You scared her to death."

"Or perhaps you are merely being too concerned for her, who knows?" he mused, but before I could react he already cut me off with a waving hand as he turned away. "You're lucky this time, bro! I won't be back until five in the morning, now bring back the bacon, eh? Toodles~"

Eyes widening in confusion, I nearly had my voice loudened when I shouted, "What?"

"A date with Raske!"

"Date my ass! You don't even have a mission yet!"

"Go figure~"

 _Darn, he's way too fast._ I looked at the distance to see him turn to the right and disappear already. Now with the silence filling the corridor, all I could do was sigh and stand in front of the command center. Through the walls, I could see Raske handing something over to Seven. _You better tell me what you're up to, Remy._

With the door opening, I entered the center to meet eyes with Raske. He made a brief nod, squaring his shoulders. "Ah, even better."

I mustered all the strength to keep myself relaxed even though I actually felt so tense the moment she turned around to lock eyes with mine as I walked towards them, keeping my hands inside my pockets. Seven seemed to cut the gaze and look away, so I glanced over to the side to Three who was waving at me joyously, but then I chose to not return the overly gesture. This was far better than looking to the other direction with that- _woman_ over there. Hah, I couldn't even put a name on it.

"Right timing as always, Operative Four," Raske stated, and I was about to roll my eyes in amusement inside my mind when I heard Dr. Park mutter something under her breath, but I ignored it. "Are you busy at the moment?"

"Fully vacant," I replied.

"Good. Kindly bring Operative Seven back to her room. It's an easy job even for a Wraith like you."

 _Well that's what I actually came here for so. . ._ I made a single nod with my eyes shifting from Three's direction to Seven before turning away to head towards the doorway. I could hear Three talking to Seven from behind, but I didn't have the right to eavesdrop to their conversation as much as I wanted to out of curiosity. I settled just before the door, my mind still filled with Seven looking at me as I walked towards her. I don't know, I didn't want to assume whatever emotion those eyes held for me right now.

_Why would I even assume when she doesn't remember me. . . that's just plain stupid of you, Enzo._

My head slightly moved involuntarily as a reflex, caused by my senses catching onto Seven's presence beside me. I kept my eyes on the wall but out of the corner of my eye, I could see her shifting uncomfortably as if she were hesitating on something.

"Let's go," I said, stopping to see her eyes widen in surprise through my peripheral before turning to stroll away. I sensed she was following behind, so I kept my eyes straight ahead while forcing myself to not crack a little smile at the thought of startling her like that. The silence was overwhelming the entire time we made it through the corridors as I couldn't even hear our own footsteps, but I knew to myself that I could bear the quiet, now that she's finally here with me.

It should have been coincidence when I heard her sigh all of a sudden as we reached the door to my room.

( **Correction** / _Four and Six's room, Enzo is just too excited to think of other things with Seven being here with him._ )

I turned around to see her eyes enlarged and mouth hung open like a deer caught in headlights, that it occurred to me she did it accidentally. Was she trying to hold herself together then? How cute. . .

"Something wrong?" I asked her, seeing her cheeks warming, but I figured it was because of embarrassment.

"I-Nothing," she stuttered.

I remained my eyes on her in amusement.

"It's just-no, never mind-that's it-you-you're just so quiet!"

Staring at her dumbfoundedly, I suppressed the grin curving up my lips although I felt something in the way she talked had changed. Maybe it was the effect of her amnesia, but either way I kept my attention focused on her as if I just couldn't get my eyes off her as she went on ranting all of a sudden.

"Aren't you gonna apologize for pointing the gun at me?" She jabbed a finger at me that hearing her tell me that seriously attacked me on a whole personal level.

_Right, the gun. . ._

"You know, I can't even remember what happened and then I find myself waking up in a place I don't know with a damn robot about to kill me then you just popped out of nowhere killing it before threatening to kill me while a guy came like a flying cow out of nowhere basically telling me to shut the hell up even if that doesn't sound like it and abducting me!" She stopped, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "Do you know how that feels?"

Okay, of course I _know_ how that feels, and what I meant was Six being that flying cow she was talking about, like who wouldn't? There was nothing I could do but stare at her in amazement, as if I couldn't bring myself to speak as much as I wanted to utter the word 'sorry.' But that word-it wasn't enough for threatening her like that. Something more would be better, even if the thought made me feel ridiculous. Seeing her hand pressed on her forehead with her eyes closed, I inhaled deeply. "Tea?"

She looked back at me. "Huh?"

I exhaled lightly, looking away at the feeling of my heart beating fast and a hint of warmth rising in my cheeks. "Thought you'd need one to ease your mind."

". . .Yeah, I need that. Where can I get one?"

"The cafeteria doesn't serve natural ones." I turned back to her while smiling inside my mind victoriously, but then the next words coming out of my mouth made me want to tell Six to give me a punch on the face. "I. . . have a brewer in my room."

Right. I just said that, didn't I? And I even had the audacity lock eyes with her, I was grateful Six wasn't around or else this would've gone worse.

Seven nodded, her lips pressing into a thin line. Without another word I turned to press my hand up against the sensor and the door opened automatically. I swallowed, shifting to the side and when she looked at me, she entered the room that got me wondering how the hell she was able to read my gesture, but I stepped the thought aside and followed in after.

Come to think of it, I never anticipated in bringing her here, the two of us alone as if nothing would happen. Anything was possible, but I was not the type of person to think of such things. I have only met her for a weeks and I only knew her name, and that was it before. . . before I lost her. 

That hug she gave me at the rooftop was what ignited these feelings I was still uncertain of about her. Now she was here, I longed to touch her, to hear her voice, and to feel her arms around me again. But that wouldn't happen for she doesn't remember me. I wasn't even there to protect her. I should have forced my way out if it only weren't for PHASe threatening me to not get involved after they pulled Six out of the way, saying it was KAIROS who cut the lines off.

Almost a year had passed, yet the memory was so vivid. It just didn't make sense.

"Hey, you okay?"

I gaped towards Seven who was still standing where she was before, and I was still by the door when I realized why I even brought her here. I could see her eyeing me in concern since she probably saw myself dozing off just then, but I went over the table near the window where the brewer was set, turning it on. As I opened the lid, I slightly turned my head to see her coming near to stand beside me.

"Let me help." She took the packet and ripped it open after shaking it, then poured it into the machine before closing it.

"How'd you know that?"

She glanced at me.

I averted my gaze, suddenly regretting of my random question.

"I honestly don't know. Instinct, I guess?"

Our eyes locked when she broke the forming ice between us, catching onto the feeling that she was finally making herself comfortable as she filled the hot water into the mug.

"I don't remember doing this before, though."

 _And you don't remember me telling you my name._ My eyes landed down on the brewer. _That's the time I first opened up myself to you, Evren._

"Do you mind telling me about it?. . . Of what happened to me and Five that night," she said in a low whisper after turning the machine off and then soaking the bag into the mug. "You don't have to tell me if you feel uneasy with it. You're the only teammate I've met so far aside from Three. And he should be busy running errands for Raske. It's okay if you feel uncomfortable, I'm not forcing you to."

_I never feel uncomfortable when it comes to you._

Realizing the tea was done, I mentally cursed at myself for zoning out for no reason. I knew my mind would always fall over the place, but I'd tell myself now's not the time for this shit especially that Seven straight up asked me about what happened to her, even though I felt like not wanting to answer her because I couldn't even bring myself to talk about it.

But I'll give it a try. _For her._

I saw her bringing the mug up to her lips. The way she said of wanting to know sounded like she was eager into finding out. After a moment of silence, I took a deep breath before taking a seat on the side of my bed.

"You were the last to join our team," I started with my eyes gazing at the carpet, the memories of meeting her for the first time in the outskirts of Olympia sending a tiny smile up the side of my mouth. "Other than adapting to the surroundings easily, you're a skilled fighter, Seven. That's why, you're always a perfect match with Zero."

"Zero?" She put the mug down, resting her hips against the edge of the table. I glanced up to see her looking out the window. "I heard he's the only Infinite. "

"Yeah." The thought of having that last talk with Zero, of him admitting his feelings to Seven when they were in the hands of KAIROS sent a familiar feeling I couldn't get a hold of back inside my heart, but I decided to not include that. "You two really get along well."

"Really? Can't wait to meet him, then."

I couldn't avoid peeking up to see what face she was making right now, to which made me look back down on the carpet after seeing her smile. It gave me a sudden realization that I actually had no idea whether she felt the same for him had she remembered.

"How about you? Did _we_ get along well?"

Something told me that she was looking at me right now that made my heart pound unknowingly. _How I wish it was more than well, if only you knew. . ._ "Of course."

"Uh-huh." Seven tilted her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "So pointing the gun at me is what you still call us getting along well?"

"I'm sorry about that," I told her the most genuine way I could say. I hope she could see that offering her the tea was one of those ways of making it up to her. "I got carried away. I just. . . I didn't want to get a fool of myself. It's been months since you- died. When Five got missing. It was all because of KAIROS that led to PHASe almost falling apart, to our team falling apart. I thought we'd get the three of you back, but we only managed to save Zero. Five-he was beaten to death. We haven't heard of him later on after capturing most of KAIROS' operatives nor did we find his body. And you. . ."

As I mustered the strength to speak out to words for the sake of Seven hearing it, I let my eyes close for I didn't want her to see the tears filling my eyes. Even my voice seemed to shake a little.

"You got shot." I inhaled sharply. "By your own brother."

There was silence and nothing else, and for a moment the hurt that came back in me had gotten even worse when the visions flashed repeatedly inside my head, when I saw her being stabbed during the mission as I lost control of myself that led to one's death. Maybe being in PHASe had been a good thing, for if I had been there, I didn't know what I was capable of after witnessing Seven's own brother-

I was not able to continue my raging thoughts when I felt something on my hand. Opening my eyes, Seven was kneeling in front of me through my clouded vision, with her hands clasped around mine. She was looking into my eyes, and all I could feel was warmth from the way she looked at me and comfort in her hands, but then it felt so different. I didn't see Evren, but someone else. Yet I didn't know who it was, until she began to hum in a soft tone.

_That song. . ._

I couldn't bring myself to speak after forcing all those words out for her. The only thing I felt was nothing but pure lethargy even if I slept the hours of the day away. I resided into keeping my mouth shut with my eyes slowly lulling to a close as I listened to her humming. It was so relaxing and nostalgic, bringing back a yearning feeling I couldn't decipher.

As she finished the song, I even let her take my arm and push my body backwards to lie back on the bed. I let out a soft groan due to the tiredness as I dug my face into my pillow.

" _S-Seven,_ " I reached out, fingers softly touching hers, but there was no response coming from her. " _I still. . . have to fetch you. . ._ "

I felt her hand around mine. She lay my arm back, feeling the covers being tucked over me. As I heard the faint sound of the door opening and then closing, there was nothing else but unconsciousness taking over me with this strange dream. . .


	6. Restlessness

❦

As I made my way through the corridors since I had a schedule this morning, I still couldn't help but think of the events that happened last night, as I never anticipated that Four would show his vulnerable side just like that, or maybe he just couldn't get a hold of himself that he just let the tears flow out. Anyhow, I still thought it would be nice to comfort him by singing a random tune, though I actually had no idea where I heard it from. And he also insisted on fetching me to my room; he probably doesn't know I got a new ARO yet.

The way he talked me was. . . Well, obviously because he sees me as Evren. The tea was good, though. I forgot to tell him I forgive him but maybe I'll do that later when I see him around. And I also need to keep myself away from bumping into that pink haired guy I almost got into trouble with last night if it weren't for Zero intervening. The thoughts then gradually drifted into my mind.

_I couldn't sleep, caused by sleepyhead Four muttering he still needed to bring me to my room, I had no idea. But the only thing I could do to keep myself from staring at the constellations on the ceiling with the unsettling silence in the room was to keep myself away amidst the corridors of the building, and by keeping myself away, I found myself standing here at the balcony. The evening breeze here was as fresh as I could inhale with the trees swaying through the cool air while my eyes gazed off into the city._

_Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, my thoughts soon shifted back to the unfamiliar voice inside my mind before I gained consciousness. I remembered that I still had to find out who I really am; with the name Y/N L/N etched into my mind, it was the only thing I could hold onto, the keystone of hope left in finding out my true identity._

_There was a rustle among the bushes, making me step off the railings and walk towards where the sound came from to see a cat leaping out of the leaves and staring at me with wide, noctilucent eyes. Since when were cats allowed in here?_

_As I found cats to be far more fascinating than dogs, I followed the cat who sprinted further into the upper balcony. I was lucky to be in here since most people had already gone back inside as it was nearly an hour before midnight. The path seemed to be more covered in shadows and the air had become denser, but I didn't lose track of the cat even if the animal was one of those being excellent with stealth, until it leaped up the railings a few feet above, where a certain man sat with his legs crossed._

_I realized the air here was really denser for he had a lit cigarette in between his two fingers as he exhaled the smoke before turning to the cat. Silky, pink hair and a muscular build, something in him evoked a subtle aura of sensuality before it faded when he saw the cat nearing him. My ARO took an immediate scan on his, to which his codename appeared before the text faded._

**Phantom Alpha: Operative Eight.  
Class type: Siren.**

_“Hello there, baby~” He cooed in an alluring tone, gently moving his hand against the fluffy fur which made the feline purr. “Bored of roaming around now?”_

_Removing my ARO, I glanced toward the view before us, of which had an abundant number of warm, blazing lights illuminated throughout this section of the city._

“Look who we have here.”

_Startling at his voice, I took a step back when he vaulted himself off the railings and crushed the cigarette under his foot after tossing it, the lights of the view behind him seeming to dim with his orbs that were unnaturally pink focused on me, as he had a cheeky grin formed up the side of his mouth, reminding me of a Cheshire cat. I then realized he had his augs on, and that he was directly using it on me._

_“Aren't so guilty now, are you?” He suddenly grabbed my arm, causing me to stare down at it wide-eyed while trying to wrench my arm off but his grip was too strong. The grin in his face disappeared, replaced by an upcoming scowl I never expected from him._

_I turned to look back at him; his augs were increasing and I was slowly feeling weak, or what they would call Sirens do—to entice. Why on earth was he doing this to a teammate? “What are you—”_

_“You shouldn't have returned. He shouldn't have gone with you. This is all your fault!” Eight's voice snapped, sending me a pang of guilt all of a sudden as well as pain around my arm, seeing he had his hand tightened on it. I forced myself to let go, but his eyes were directed on me I couldn't even make another move. It felt like he was. . . paralyzing me._

_“S-Stop—” I mustered the strength to not give in to his augs, though I found them so powerful that my eyes kept on finding their way back toward his. From below, I could hear the cat growling._

_“Eight, what are you doing?”_

_Hearing the deep voice sent Eight shutting his augs off abruptly and letting go of my arm. I stumbled backwards away from the Siren, where he stood with his face caught in surprise, eyes narrowed after toward a man in white, leather jacket. The blue streaks on his jet black hair were what caught me despite the pain remaining on my arm of which I held._

_“Ah, hi there, Zero~” Eight smiled, running a hand through his hair. I made a mental note to keep myself a good six feet away from him at the least. “You see that Seven and I here are, having quite a bit of a fun in our little reunion together.”_

_“_ Not _my definition of fun,” I muttered in annoyance, looking away. I caught Zero staring at me with wide eyes, while Eight sent me a menacing look. There was a moment of awkward silence among us, until the cat began to purr again which Eight picked up gently._

_He spared me a glance as he passed by me. “You're lucky this time, Seven,” he whispered in a low voice, before turning to walk away, leaving me and the guy called Zero alone._

_With Eight being gone, I could somehow get a proper breathe as I let out a sigh, looking at the view once again, regretting my decision of following his cat._

_“Hey,” Zero called out, making me turn to him and see his eyes avoiding mine. “Um, sorry about Eight. . . He's been like that ever since Five. They were the best of friends."_

_“You shouldn't apologize on his behalf,” I told him, and there was a blush dusting on his cheeks but I ignored it. “You didn't even see what he did to me.” I looked down at the forming bruises on my arm, and the next thing I knew was a hand taking it to my surprise._

_Zero was holding it, looking at me in concern before he heaved a sigh, brows furrowing. “That guy. . . He really needs a lecture from Nine—”_

_“Whoa there, chill out.” I chuckled while placing my other hand on top of his that held my arm. He saw what I did, making his face redden. “I can take care of this. It's just a bruise.”_

_“It's not just a bruise.” He eyed me intently._

_He looked so young, and as far as I remembered he was the rookie in our team aside from me. How old was he again?_

_“Seven.”_

_I looked back at him in confusion after hearing him say my codename the same way Four did. From the way he was blushing so hard, despite his eyes half-lidded, I could take a guess that he was enamored or something, but in a shyly way._

_“I'm. . . glad to know you're back.” He glanced at me. “I've missed you, Seven. A lot.”_

_I stared at him, not knowing whether I should say that I missed him too even if it didn't make sense; how the hell would I miss someone I've never even met? So based on how he looked and talked at me, I bet he and Evren really had a great time together, but the thing was I was not Evren. I was stuck in Evren's body and I had no idea what to do with Zero being so. . . kind and caring._

_He suddenly let go, taking a step back as if he had guilt etched on his face. “I'm sorry for touching you like that, you must've felt uncomfortable.”_

_“No, it's fine.” He's so polite that I thought the amount of politeness I had was too far from his level. “Zero, right?”_

_He nodded._

_“Well, thanks for saving me from Eight.” I gave him a warm smile. “I have to go back to my room now. It's almost midnight and I still have therapy to attend in the morning.” I was about to pass by him when I felt him take my wrist, so I turned to face him and I didn't realize he was too close. “Uh, something you wanna say?”_

_He stared at me for a moment, feeling reluctant of it that he sighed lightly and shook his head, letting go of my hand. I glanced at him one last time, before turning away to head back into the building even if I could still feel his eyes watching me. I knew he was going to tell me something yet I was not sure what it was, until I got tired thinking of it on my way back to my room that I soon fell asleep right after._

Now that I was standing in front of the office, I took a deep breath, making sure to relax myself before showing up to Dr. Sadik. Based on my past record, I had gone here once to see her after KAIROS had been infiltrated out of PHASe's headquarters. I hoped she could ease the anxieties away in my mind yet I still need to be careful. Since she was a psychologist, it was possible for her to find out about me. I entered the office and was immediately blown away by the greenery present in the tranquil room.

“Hello, Seven.”

Wow, she has a soothing voice. Dr. Sadik rounded the table, walking towards me and then gesturing for me to take a seat, so I sat on one of the couches as she settled across from me. If I had to be frank with anyone, the only place I'd find myself staying in most of the time aside from my room, was this place.

“How are you doing, my dear?”

“Still breathing, I guess?”

She smiled. “I could tell you are certainly breathing well. May I ask on how you are feeling regarding last night's events?”

I decided to stay with being as honest as possible. “It was exhausting. Trying to make yourself remember what you've forgotten, I mean.”

“I can see that.” Dr. Sadik nodded. “Did you get to meet your teammates, Seven?”

“Yeah, some of them.” I thought back to last night, in meeting Four and that mysterious guy in the alley, Three in the command center, Eight in the balcony, and then Zero. “They're mostly bearable so far.”

“Do you find yourself being comfortable with any of them? Someone whom you can confide with?”

I glanced at Dr. Sadik, confused at the thought that everyone here should be professional with each other, and when she got a read on my expression, she only chuckled.

“Nothing is wrong with having a bond with some of your teammates. It'll actually help you execute your missions better, as long as you don't let your emotions get in the way.” She grimaced. “It is one of the reasons why most operatives prefer on being professional with their colleagues, as they do not want to fail their missions. On the bright side, however,” she formed a smile, “having a friend should be fun.”

“But I don't have a friend.”

“That is why you could make one.” She moved to stand, crouching down in front of me and placing both of my hands in hers. “Now, keep your eyes closed.”

I followed her instruction.

She began rubbing my palms with her fingers in circular motion. “Among your teammates, I would like you to think of that person whom you find comfort with.”

_Whom I find comfort with?_

For a moment there was nothing in my mind, it was all blank, until a certain face showed up, with the way our hands were in each other. It was cold and warm at the same time. . . that I found comforting. And that just wasn't it. I wanted to see him again, even if I wasn't sure whether I'd really want to, but part of me tells me to. I wanted to know more of him.

I felt the massage stop and Dr. Sadik told me to open my eyes again. She was smiling at me differently that I felt nervous she could have guessed whom I was thinking of. My heart was beating unevenly but to my relief, she rose on her feet.

“How are you currently feeling, Seven?”

“Well. . .” I looked down, feeling my mind so clear at once and the heavy feeling in my chest miraculously gone. “I feel. . . better.” I looked back at her with a tiny smile. “I wasn't able to get my memories back but, I can say my anxieties are relieved. Thank you, Dr. Sadik.”

“I'm glad to hear that." She returned a warm smile. “Now I suggest that you meet up with that friend of yours you find comfort with. He's currently waiting for you, dear."

I stared at her in surprise, seeing her gesturing toward the door, so I moved to stand heading for the door which opened.

I never felt so nervous and embarrassed at the same time when I saw Four standing at the doorway, who sent Dr. Sadik a small bow. I gave Four a ‘What-Are-You-Doing-Here’ look, as I turned to see Dr. Sadik making a grin while eyeing the two of us.

“Good morning, Doctor,” Four greeted.

“To you as well, Four.” She brought her hands up to rest her chin on it, looking at me. “Seven has just finished her therapy. She's free to go.”

Four nodded, and then his eyes flicked towards me. 

My heart pounded the moment he took my hand in his; it was so soft I wouldn't want to let go, and as he led me out the office I wished I didn't hear what Dr. Sadik said for my heart only thumped faster, “Have a nice date!”


	7. Dreams of the Past

☪

_There was nothing that could be heard but the serene whoosh of the afternoon breeze, along with the creaking sound of the swing as I gently pushed her back and forth. With the tip of the orange sun nearing to touch the horizon and the skies drawn by purple clouds over the vast clearing of spring, it was all too perfect to be in a moment with her, for now was the first time we ever talked again since school drifted the both of us apart. But now that we both graduated from different schools, I could spend the rest of the summer with her._

_"High school sucks, you know?"_

_I stopped the swing. This time she hopped off and turned to face me while wrapping her hand around the chains, where my hand was clasped tightly below. The swing was what kept us apart and the distance between us had only been this close and not further than that, even though I had always wished of closing it. I respected her boundaries, but we would always end up staring at each other as if we were not contented, not ceasing to look for each other's soul through our eyes as the time passed._

_"What are your plans for the future?" She stepped backwards, turning away from me._

_I only watched her as her head was lifted up and her eyes stared up at the skies, mesmerizing how perfectly imperfect she was._

_I had no idea what my plans for the future would be, but I was sure to know in my heart, that she was my certainty in this world full of uncertainties._

_"Don't know," I lied._

_She gaped back at me, nodding obliviously. "I don't plan on going to college."_

_My brows furrowed, and all I could say was one word, given me being a short-spoken person, which actually had been one among my New Year's Resolution list yet I hadn't gotten it in check. "Why?"_

_"'Cause college sucks even more." She smiled and chuckled when I made a tiny frown. "Kidding, Enzo. But seriously, I'm not going to college. . . I'm leaving Italy tomorrow morning."_

_What? I stared her, thinking that she was trying to pull one of those pranks again with the way she was looking at me seriously. And besides, how on earth was she able to leave the country right after high school? She never told me of her departure._

_"Uh-oh, bad news! No incoming prank for today."_

_"I'm not buying it," I told her in a half-annoyed tone, but all I felt was my heart sinking at the sight of her melancholic eyes looking to the side._

_"Well, you should be. I was recruited by P.H.A.N.T.A.S.M recently."_

_Now that was not one of those pranks, which sent me a mixed feeling of remorse, disappointment and frustration. Was she telling the truth then? But if she really were then that just meant. . ._

_"It's a government organization in Olympia."_

_Olympia? Did she mean, that Olympia?_

_"Yeah, you know what I mean." She exhaled, eyes gazing to a distance. "I'm gonna be an operative soon. You know those people who fight the bad guys? It's your typical detective movie, but it comes with its perks. Aside from getting superhuman abilities I heard it's a promising life you get to have when you live there."_

_I nodded, knowing that Olympia was one of the best cities of 2068, but the fact that she was leaving tomorrow didn't make me happy at all. I had a lot in my mind and saying that I wanted her to stay was one of them, but of course I couldn't. I didn't want to be the reason for her dreams to be intercepted just because of my selfishness. If going to Olympia and becoming an operative there was what made her happy, then I'd support her for it as much as it saddened me._

_"Hey. . ." I felt her hand descend the chain to wrap around mine, causing my heart to thump as I locked eyes with her. "If I had to be honest, I don't think we'll see each other again soon."_

_I looked down. Of course I knew that. She was the only friend I had ever since I moved here from South Korea—no, she was more than just a friend to me—and it was the first day of school when I even got into a fight with her. The moment made me laugh inside, only for me to feel my eyes clouding I didn't notice she was calling me repeatedly. I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt her thumb wipe the tears off my cheek, feeling uneasy of her seeing me crying and that she was leaning even closer. Well, I actually broke down in tears in front of her before but that was because we were too drunk to care of what was going on with our faces._

_"Ugh, dammit Enzo." She closed her eyes, sighing then looking at me again. "You're making it harder for me to leave you like this."_

_Well if you're really leaving tomorrow, I'd better not hold myself back now. I touched her hand back which held my cheek, making her eye me in surprise, and I swore I saw a hint of red flush on her face. "I. . . just want you to stay with me a little longer. Before you go."_

_Is that even too much to ask for?_

_"I won't stop you." I stared at her deeply, feeling the warmth of her hand drive the cold of the afternoon breeze away. "You'll do great there."_

_Her eyes went half-lidded. "I'm sure you'll do great here too. You should make new friends so you won't be sad thinking of me."_

_"You're the only friend I want to be with."_

_Her eyes widened, her cheeks becoming redder. I couldn't help but chuckle at being able to tease her like this. She looked away sheepishly. "Enzo. . . stop messing with me. . ."_

_I didn't want her to go. . . I wanted to say those words, to let her hear me say it to her fully and bravely._

Abrupt consciousness slipped back into me, my eyes opening wide to see a pair of gleaming ones in the darkness and a smirking face hovered above me.

"What the?" I groaned, pushing Six's face away with my hand before I rose, muttering profanities under my breath after seeing that it was quarter to six in the morning and the sun hadn't risen up yet.

Closing my eyes and ignoring the silver-haired man's loud-mouthed antics, I held the side of my head with the efforts of pushing the dream off my mind. How did that come back? As far as I remembered, I brought Seven to my room to offer her tea, and then we had little bit of talk. She also hummed a song for me and I still had to ask her where she knew it but I wasn't able to because. . . Shoot, did I just fall asleep and let her go alone?

" _'Stay with me a little longer~'_ " Six mimicked, forcing not to laugh as I shot him a glare, but he only sticked his tongue out. " _'You're the only friend I want to be with~_ '"

"Remy," I chided in annoyance, "it's not six in the morning yet and you're already giving me a damn headache."

"My, my~" He smirked, plopping at the edge of the bed near my feet and then leaning forward. "Tell me, bro. Was it dear ol' Seven? Did you two finally _kiss kiss fall in love_ that's why you can't stop thinking of her even in your dreams?"

I didn't answer him as I avoided his gaze, my eyes staring at the window again. I was not in the mood of opening my mouth, so maybe he'd guess that it was definitely not Seven I had in mind, but I didn't care. As soon as silence filled over the room, I could see the smirk in him fade in an instant through my peripheral. He knew who I was thinking about. He was the only one who knew that that was the reason why I even signed up in PHASe.

After a moment, Six heaved a sigh. I decided now was not the right time to talk about this for I had a more important subject to discuss with him. 

"Hey, you've been gone for ages. What's up?"

He avoided my gaze, of which I was sure he was hiding something from me. If he could pretend everything was fine in front of the others, that wouldn't work on me. "It's a long story."

"I can see that," I mumbled sarcastically, taking a deep breath and sighing. "You better tell me that when you're ready."

"Of course."

I got off the bed to take a shower, and soon after I changed into a new set of clothes, ruffling my wet hair in front of the mirror and then shooting Six a glare when I caught him eyeing me in a playful flirtatious manner.

"Looks like homeboy be going on a date~"

"Somebody needs to _shut up._ "

°

"Have a nice date!"

Ah, Dr. Sadik really seemed to be getting on with mind reading lately. Did the way I looked appear too obvious? I could see Seven's face blushing from behind, and I realized I had been leading her on when I hadn't even asked her out—to hang out with me. What was wrong with that?

"Uh, Four?"

I turned to face Seven, who stopped and had her eyes looked off to the side that it sent my heart beating. The dream I had flashed in my mind again, but soon faded as I reminded myself to not let that dream interfere me from dealing with reality. This was Seven I'm facing, and that girl. . . _She had been a memory I've been trying to forget for years._

"Come with me," I told her, to which she gave me a confused expression. I mentally noted to not crack a smile whenever she was around making such reactions. She slowly nodded, and so the two of us walked side by side until we reached the elevator. It was only the two of us inside; I felt grateful enough the space was big enough for us to have a distance between us, that I couldn't help but blush at her hand holding mine last night, and her face—it was almost too close. I peeked to the side to see what face Seven was making. Looking away, I formed a tiny smile. The way her lips were pouting naturally made it even harder for my heart to fall back to its normal pace.

"Mind if I know where we're going?"

"You'll see." I looked at her finally, and she returned the gaze. After a moment I realized we had been staring at each other, for I heard a scoff coming from outside the elevator which had already opened. I turned to see Najeed enter, who seemed to give the two of us a smirk but I immediately got out of my way with Seven greeting her briefly before following me.

"Okay, that was just plain rude of you." Seven caught up to my side. "Why didn't you say something nice to her? Like, you know, a simple good morning would work."

I ignored her, though I was amused at her being like this. Despite the feeling the way she talked reminded me of that person, I thought that it was merely the amnesia that made her act different to her surroundings. We finally reached the cafeteria, and even though I felt pissed there were so many people filling in the tables at least the lanes had a few ones lined up. I made my way through, with me being the second and Seven behind me.

"Now you're being rude to me. _What_ did I do this time?"

I turned around to face her to give my stone faced expression, making her look at me nervously. Well, I always gave her that but this one gave off a different vibe. And yes, it sure did scare her. "Najeed and I get along well," I told her calmly. "We basically don't greet each other. A simple look is enough. Now if you're ever calling me rude, let me remind you that I initiated on meeting you up in Dr. Sadik's office because I want to hang out with you."

I just did that. Phew, nice one, Enzo.

"Your order, Sir?"

I turned around, raising a hand shortly at the cashier.

"Oh, it's you." The male smiled. "Your reservation came just in time. Let me get it for a sec."

I nodded as he went inside the kitchen and no more than two seconds he already returned with two boxes, one in each hand. Taking them, I mouthed him a thanks before turning to Seven. "Let's go."

"Wait, I haven't ordered mine yet—"

"I already bought you one."

"Hey! You can't just order me around!"

Finding a lone area, I headed towards the table with Seven trailing behind. I pulled a chair and took a seat, startling of her hand slamming against the table.

"Stop ignoring me. You don't even know what food I like—" she stopped, staring down at the food after I opened the boxes. The aroma of the freshly cooked waffles and berries filled the air.

I pushed the other box forward. "Eat up."

Seven looked at me, then down at the waffle, before heaving a sigh and plopping down at her seat. "The things I do for food."

I took a piece of waffle and shoved it into my mouth, chewing the taste of maple and sweet berry melting inside into my tongue. A moment of silence interceded between the two of us as the noise of the cafeteria remained in the distance, however at least the waffles tasted good, and I felt a sense of contentment to see Seven enjoying it as she took another mouthful as if having the time of her life.

"You know. . ." She swallowed, wiping the residue off the side of her mouth. "They taste real good. . . I forgive you."

"Forgive me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"The gun incident?"

I stared at her. "Oh."

"Yeah," her eyes locked with mine, "I only met you last night. I mean, since I don't remember anything and you guys mostly have been nice to me so far. Plus you offered me tea. . . And then this." She smiled. "You're actually nice, you know that?"

I averted, feeling my cheeks heat up. She never told me that directly, and hearing her say that only sent my heart pounding faster. She just. . . never fails to drive me crazy, in a good way.

"So to sum things up, I owe you anything."

 _Anything?_ I looked back at her, remembering of the song she hummed to me last night. She possibly could or could not know how she knew it, but there was nothing to lose, right? And besides, there was no way she and that person were related. Seven was a nomad before but the possibilities of them knowing each other was very unlikely. "Can I ask you something?"

"Is that the favor yet?"

I nodded. "About last night. . . you—you sa—"

A ring came out of nowhere.

"Aish, what even?" I cursed under my breath, answering the call coming from the comms and setting it on loudspeaker to hear it was Nine. He really had to interrupt our conversation, huh? "Hey, Nine."

 _"Four?"_ His tone sounded surprised. I realized I just woke up in the morning for the first time since I got the last minor mission.

"Morning," I greeted monotonously. Seven was staring down at the waffle, but she seemed to be listening to the convo eagerly. "Is something up?"

_"Yes. Raske wants Phantom Alpha present in the command center eight o'clock sharp. The other teams will be there, too."_

The whole team? And there are other groups involved. Seven and I looked at each other.

_"They want us fully prepared. Especially Seven."_


	8. Words in the Corridors

❦

_Especially me?_

With the way Four was eyeing me strangely, of course I'd assume something big was going to happen and that surely involved me. Soon the call ended, and it felt like the two of us had already forgotten about the waffles because of what Nine announced. Wait, shouldn't he know I was currently with Four? Aside from the food, it seemed like Four also forgot about what he was supposed to ask me for he moved to stand.

He looked down at his wristwatch. "We should get ready.”

I nodded, standing up awkwardly and then waving a hand at him. “Yeah. . . Thanks for the breakfast.” I saw him looking at me as I turned away to leave the cafeteria.

“Seven, wait.”

I stopped, heart beating at him calling my codename, even if it was just a codename. Turning around, I could see his cheeks flushing lightly. I waited for him to say something, but he only shook his head.

“Never mind. You can go now.”

“Yeah, sure.” I looked away at the empty feeling. _Shouldn't have expected—why would I even care to expect? What's wrong with me?_

Without another word I left the cafeteria.

I don't have my ARO then that means I had to go through all those damn corridors again. I remembered Four and I went to the elevator before reaching the cafeteria, so I passed through the lobby, noticing some people giving me looks due to my paranoid face probably bothering them, but I've got no time dealing with them when I had a ton of crap on my plate already. My room should be in the upper floors where Dr. Sadik's office is, but what floor was it?

The elevators soon opened, and I was about to walk in when I stopped on my tracks to meet eyes with a silver-haired man stepping out. A grin curved up the side of his lips, and at that moment I swore to myself that he was radiating the same eerie aura the time I was in that alley. In a state of internal panic, I couldn't help looking to the side to see if there were other people to enter the elevator as I felt the hairs rise on my back, which to my mishap, there was none.

“ _Hello, Seven~_ ”

 _Shoot, it's him._ I caught him leaning his side against the elevator frame with his other hand pressed on the other one. _He's the one who clamped my mouth shut!_

“We still have a little feud between us, don't we?”

I eyed him warily. “It's you.”

“Always has been~” He grinned, and then pushed himself off the frame to lend out a hand. “I shouldn't have gone too far with that, so let me know what I can do to make it up to you.”

_Wow, this guy's literally straight to the point. He hasn't even introduced himself._

“Operative Six.”

I startled.

“Sub-leader, your one and only Specter. The pleasure is mine, dear Seven. Looking forward to working with you again with the rest of the team!" He sent me a wink, stepping out of the elevator as his brown eyes stared into mine. “I see you two get along well.”

“What?”

Six let out a hearty laugh. “Mind you, he's always locked himself in our room ever since, until you came yesterday.”

_Was he talking about Four? And Six just said ‘our room', so they were roommates?_

“It hasn't been twenty-four hours yet and he already offered you tea and a special breakfast," he sighed dramatically, “even picked you up from Dr. Sadik's office. What more in the following weeks, I couldn't _imagine._ ”

There was a smirk on his face, causing me to look at him wide-eyed with my cheeks warming up. What on earth was this guy thinking? I looked away and thought that things would have gone much worse if I chose to stay with him. How did he know what happened between Four and me? It wasn't that they were mere roommates so he knew, since I doubted Four was the type to spill things out so easily. I entered the elevator as I kept my eyes out of Six's gaze, the panels soon closing and his face finally out of my sight.

I suddenly realized he just mentioned he was a Specter. So he was telepathic. . . Oh crud, good thing I wasn't thinking of myself or else he could have gotten a read on— _calm down, Y/N. He didn't find out. No one else would find out._

All I could do was heave a sigh as I kept my feet on balance through the compartment lifting a few floors up. Of course I wouldn't ask Six to lead me to my room; I would rather endure those corridors myself. And with my mind surging with dilemma of not knowing which floor was it, the elevator stopped with a ding, the panels sliding open as my thoughts derailed at the sight of a familiar face.

Zero's eyes widened, and there went the blush rising up his cheeks again before he composed himself and stood a few meters away from me, the doors then closing. I suddenly remembered of last night, to which he began to break the ice forming between us.

“How's your arm?”

“Oh, it's fine.” I crossed my arms, thinking that I actually hadn't done anything about the bruise but at least I was wearing long sleeves today. Zero nodded, his eyes staring at the doors. “How are you?”

He seemed surprise of my question, avoiding my gaze at him as his hand went up to scratch the back of his neck. “I—I'm okay.”

Now I didn't know how to follow up my next question, which obviously was asking him if he could help me find my room, allowing an awkward moment of silence interceding that made me look away to the side in embarrassment. _This is getting out of hand. . ._

“I. . . heard there's a mission specially for our team,” he spoke, I then nodding. “Are you heading to the command center?”

“I still have to go to my room." I inhaled deeply. “I forgot my ARO, so. . .”

“Let me take you there.”

I turned my head to look at him fully, seeing his eyes flick to the side. Was he really that uneasy of making eye contact? Besides him seeming to be shy and soft-spoken, I knew I shouldn't judge him for being introverted, for I still haven't seen him get in action when the mission comes.

“There's thirty minutes left. We can still make it.”

I nodded, feeling relieved that I wasn't going to get lost this time. And since I was with Zero, I could guarantee I wouldn't get in trouble. “Thanks, Zero.”

He made a small smile, and the elevator opened just in time before he walked out with me following behind. The two of us strolled side by side through the corridors, passing by a couple of operatives who greeted Zero formally and all I could do was imitate Zero bowing slightly. Gosh, the amount of respect I had for this guy was too much, that I had no idea if the people would give the same greeting if I went alone by myself and Zero wasn't here. I could see he was well-known here in PHASe as he was the only Infinite; surely almost everyone here looked up to him.

“You're pretty famous,” I remarked as soon as it was just the two of us walking at the corridors. Out of the corner of my eye, he made a shrug and remained silent. We passed through a few more corridors and somehow they were starting to look familiar to me, until I finally spotted the door to my room which was three more blocks away. I stopped before the door, turning to Zero. “Just a minute.”

He nodded. I entered the room, my eyes scanning around to look for the ARO that was peeking out from under the blanket. How on earth did that get in there?

Shaking my head, I grabbed it and made my way out the room for I didn't want to keep Zero waiting, and this time I didn't expect for him to be standing right in front of the door that when it opened, I almost stumbled backwards at his face so close, our eyes both widening in surprise. I mumbled in apology with my head looking away, scolding myself mentally at the thought of almost bumping into his chest. He nodded, although he looked flustered of what happened but we moved to set on our way to the command center.

_Now this is undeniably the most awkward thing that ever happened to me. . ._

It felt like forever with the silence seeming to eat myself whole alive and with Zero submitting to it. Okay, so he was not the ice breaker type, which was even worse at this moment. I wanted to initiate on talking things up, but there didn't seem to be a right word to leave my mouth that I merely resided on fumbling my fingers with my ARO.

And just as we were one hallway away, I wished I didn't complain about the unbearable silence, because there was a scream that made me halt, but the other people strolling from afar looked as if nothing happened. Zero noticed my sudden movement, and when I looked at him he seemed as if he also heard it.

“You. . . You heard that?” Now the corridors were even more unsettling, and when Zero made a nod, though reluctantly at first, I could feel an inner turmoil finding its way in my gut.

“KAIROS operatives.”

“What?” I stared at Zero, dumbfounded.

He was avoiding my gaze again, but it was different. It looked as if he were somehow. . . afraid.

“Zero?” I called him out despite the turbulence of anxiety inside of me. “There are KAIROS operatives in here?—”

“Captives. Handled by the Panacea.” He inhaled sharply, his eyes closing. “They've been doing it for who knows how long.”

“To get the info out of them?” That scream. . . If what Zero said about the Panacea doing it for an indeterminate period of time, then that scream wasn't the first time it happened. I glanced at Zero. “This is a government organization, so everyone in PHASe knows about this, right?"

He was still avoiding my eyes, yet I was keen on finding out why. He didn't say anything, as he only made a stiff nod before taking a deep breath. “We shouldn't be talking about this.”

“Why?” _Is there something PHASe is hiding?_

Zero spared me a glance, sliding his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, and then turned away from me to walk onward. “We need to go, Seven.”

I watched him go, before sighing and shaking my head to catch up with him.

Hiding it is, then. He doesn't look like the type to open up easily, and I'm not the type to press things further. There's only one person I could ask. . . Risky, but it's better than nothing. That scream was enough to make me suspicious into finding out, but besides that I still need to work on searching the truth behind my soul being stuck in this body. Maybe after this mission.

Zero and I reached the command center fifteen minutes earlier yet the seats were almost filled up with operatives discussing with one another. At the far end of the table sat a few recognizable faces, turning out to be Phantom Alpha of whom had different expressions at the sight of our arrival, aside from the operatives from the other teams mostly sending me curious looks. I felt Zero nudging me to follow him to the other side, where our teammates were waiting for us.

“Zero! Seven! Long time no see.” Three waved a hand at me as we took a seat, but it took a while for me to return Three the same gesture for I was drawn to Four's eyes staring at me blankly with his mouth not even twitching a bit who sat across from me. There was Eight at his right, who had his face glued at the desk but I could see his eyes glancing up at me in a subtle, sinister manner. And then Six at the left who was obviously trying to get a read on me with a smirk crept us his face. This day was unusually lucky for me because the scream and Panacea was gone off my mind.

Now I wish it was the other way around, that I get to face Three and Zero instead. At least there was a different face, a silver-purple haired man giving me a serene smile seated at the corner.

Wait, he's sitting here with us, which meant he was the leader of our team. Nine.

Eyes widening, I shifted in my seat out of embarrassment as I looked down. How didn't I notice sooner? “Go—Good morning.”

Six suddenly bursted out laughing, causing me and Nine to eye him confusingly. Eight looked too pleased in laughing along mischievously while Three and Zero formed a frown. And Four. . . He was staring at the Six insouciantly. As expected.

I almost startled at Zero moving to stand, followed by the rest of the operatives imitating what he did, so I turned my head to the doorway to see Raske and other individuals in white enter, of which a distinct female stood out. As everyone was settled, Nine switched the projector on, allowing a giant, three-dimensional screen flicker in front of us that nearly occupied the entire table.

“I expect that all of you are now here,” Raske stated. “It is self-explanatory why Phantom Alpha to Phantom Delta were called in one mission, as all of you shall be needed in order to perform your jobs as efficiently as possible, especially Phantom Alpha. The Oracles from your teams have been working on tracking KAIROS' whereabouts ever since their escape on the previous year, and here is what they have recently gathered as vestige from Blue Wings."

The screen shifted to a mere pitch black. Then to my surprise, a certain face popped out and it was no other than Evren, aka me sitting on the ground at the alley as I held my head. My heart pounded.

“Due to this being a CCTV footage, we expect that we could get a lead on who brought Operative Seven to that specific location, but unfortunately, the files had been mysteriously deleted beforehand.” There was a flash of red light. “Here comes Operative Four and Six, and the alien being to attack Operative Seven we assume was sent by KAIROS. It appears that this robot, is just one in many they are planning to create."

The screen turned off.

“Operative Six has just notified me of a party to be held this evening in one of the bars in the Fifth District, in which KAIROS operatives, including foul High Priestess and Temperance, are claimed to sort out their bidding. That is, for Phantom Alpha to act as Emissaries as Phantom Beta, Gamma and Delta as back-ups. Oracles and Architects are exceptional as you would be staying here and have your commands and information handed over comms." Raske's eyes flicked towards me. "Party starts at eight. Time of departure shall be an hour before for proper preparation. Now that you are aware of this, I expect all of you handle this mission well as you have a huge amount of time to plan on what to do. We are all counting on you, operatives.”

All of us made a nod, and Raske was about to dismiss the meeting when a male raised his hand. “Is it true, then?”

All of us eyed the operative, even Raske who crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, _what_ is true?”

“That Operative Seven has been brainwashed by KAIROS, and is working as a spy for them."


	9. Repudiation

☪

What kind of crap is that? I had heard of that stupid rumor circulating around PHASe, but I never anticipated it would go too far like this. To my anger which I was forcing to suppress, everyone had their eyes at Seven, most of them intrigued by the nonsense and even Raske was buying this, including Eight and Dr. Park. Well, what do you expect from that woman, anyway? Zero, Three and Nine didn't look too pleased to hear that and so was I, and Six looked a bit reluctant of where to look that he set his eyes on the table.

"Where'd you get the idea, Twenty?" Ten commented. "You think these damn rumors are worth talking about now?"

"We don't know if she really has amnesia." Twenty sent Seven a wary look, making me clench my fists under the table. "She could be faking it—"

"Yeah, try fixing your _attitude_ first before starting some trashy gossip, how 'bout that?"

A scoff resounded throughout the room. All heads turning to the one beside Three, Dr. Park cleared her throat that ceased the mutters entirely; turned out Raske had been watching the uprising commotion.

"It appears that they are done." Dr. Park crossed her arms over her chest.

Raske's jaws tightened. "These rumors. . . are a mere quintessence of downright incompetence. I could not bear the fact to hear people have the _audacity_ to even bring up this nonsensical, outrageous speculation in this formal meeting." He inhaled sharply. "All of you operatives—calling you a disappointment is not enough to absolve such insult to P.H.A.N.T.A.S.M. I do not want to hear any of this matter from this moment onwards, or the Head Department itself would not give a second thought to have you demoted from your position or even worse than that."

He moved to stand, eyeing each one of us coldly before turning on his heels.

"You are all dismissed."

The other staff followed him out, and soon as they were gone, a couple of operatives left their seats; almost everyone seemed to avoid the direction where Ten was heading to—Seven. I made my way towards the two of them but I stopped on my tracks when I saw Zero walking up to them yet he was called by Dr. Park.

I shook my head to myself in disappointment at my own thought that I'd get to talk to Seven most of the time, which shouldn't be it. She has her own time. I should respect that.

"Hey." Six walked up behind me, making me turn to him. "We need to talk."

I stuffed my hands into my pockets. "Sure, what is it?"

His eyes darted behind me, and for a moment I thought he was eyeing Dr. Park but there were others behind us. However, I saw him make a slight nod and I didn't even know what to feel at him speaking in a low voice, "You guessed it right. But we're not talking here."

He gestured for me to follow him out the command center, meaning my chance of speaking with Seven dwindled to a perfect zero, although I pushed the thought aside since I had an odd feeling in my chest seeing Six acting so anxious. It wasn't obvious to anyone else. Raske just announced of Six discovering another KAIROS activity; it certainly was enough to bring PHASe back on working their asses off into finding out, but seeing Six act this way, I knew something was up. Something that could've involved PHASe in particular.

I followed Six back inside our room. He pulled the curtains down before leaving the window as the door closed behind me, my eyes watching him move about the room pressing unidentifiable squares down the walls and throughout the floor with his hues radiating green and his face streaking with glowing patterns. I leaned my back against the doorframe.

_Never seen him so serious even with his augs on._

The glow in his face disappeared after he rose on his feet and headed to his desk. I walked up next to him, as he hovered his wrist over the screen of his tablet. Streaks of white orbs emerged from his wrist from the small ring etched on it as it was gradually being transferred into the device, and the screen flashed into a window piled with blocks of foreign codes scrolling down constantly.

"Not a hustler with these like Three, but the flash drive he created's a huge help." The ring on his wrist faded as he switched a button at the side of his tablet, where a three-dimensional keyboard emerged. "Coding used to be the love of my life. Haven't told you about it, but now you know."

I rested my arm down on the desk. "What was that damn prosecutor mode of yours all about?"

"Call it an end to end encryption. You know, privacy and stuff. We never know what PHASe has in their minds with KAIROS back on the line."

"So what do you wanna talk about?"

There was a grim expression from him that I caught for a second, then his lips settled into a frown as his eyes flicked up to me with the glow of the screen lighting up his face. "When I was roaming the streets, I got to talk with a few citizens near the area where we're supposed to head to later, but it wasn't just them I talked with. . ."

His eyes darted back on the tablet, and as I glanced at the screen, the codes had been scanned and translated into English. A terminal window popped up.

There was that face, and that name I couldn't believe was there.

I utterly felt speechless, for I only looked back at Six confusingly with my mouth hung open slightly in disbelief, causing my heart to pound heavily.

He returned my gaze. "Temperance is here in Olympia. I saw her. She gave me this so I used the flash drive I borrowed from Three, but I wasn't expecting everything in here's actually true. And this record, it's legitimate. So I. . . I just don't get why they covered it all up."

I took a read at the screen again, blinking once and twice and more to make sure this wasn't all a dream, and it wasn't. Every information I saw below was unbelievably right, even the date of her birth, travel history, etc. It was all correct, that I couldn't let out the tormented scream that erupted inside of me at the sight of the text at the bottom.

"Even I couldn't believe it. She was too powerful that even PHASe couldn't take control over her. . . They decided to—to kill her instead."

I closed my eyes shut, my fists clenching tight.

_It's been ten years. . . Why did this have to happen now, when I've been forcing myself to move forward and leave it behind?_

I did what I could to follow her here. Because it was what I knew to myself, the dream to live alongside with her. My heart had been shattered to pieces to find out she was not here, that there had never been a person of that name that set foot in PHASe, even Olympia. It was as if she had already become one of those mysteries I was yet to decipher. I was lost. I didn't know what to do after knowing the only person I had treasured, the one who gave another reason for me to hold on, was gone.

"There's one thing I still don't understand, like it just doesn't make sense at all." Six inhaled deeply. ". . . You know what Tempie told me before I lost track of her?"

I looked back at Six, for as much as I didn't want another one, this time, I was not prepared to hear what he was about to say.

" _She said your friend is alive, Enzo._ "

❦

A deep sigh escaped my lips. After talking with Ten, the incident that happened in the command center this morning somehow got off my mind after hearing her assure it would not happen ever again, and that she believed I was not a traitor. Of course I wasn't, I didn't even know a single thing about KAIROS to begin with, so knowing Olympia was one of the best cities today got me surprised to the fullest for there were still these types of people hanging around. Well, it was better than living in a world where only positivity existed; there wouldn't be one. Sometimes we need a bit of negativity in our lives and that would be how we choose to react to it.

At least I was able to make a new friend, in spite of everyone having a negative impression on her for they chose to not see through that wall of intimidating aura around her.

The only thing that never failed to ease my mind was the overlooking city that was gradually being casted of shadows, and it was the heat of the setting sun that sent me a serene feeling of warmth as I had my arms rested on the railings. I never thought the rooftop here had the best spot in seeing the whole clearing of Olympia. With the cool whoosh of the breeze, I took a deep breath, thinking it would have been better if he were also here to see this beautiful view at this certain moment.

But it felt ridiculous; I shouldn't long for someone's company, for the passage of time in this particular part of the world, to me, no longer felt real. I closed my eyes and exhaled.

"Nervous?"

Startling, I turned my head looking at Nine a few meters away from where I was. _Since when had he been standing there?_

He gaped back at me with a serene smile, that it looked as if he himself blended with the calm essence of the afternoon sun and the gentle gust of the wind. He didn't look like a leader to me personally, but I knew people had different perspectives of what a leader was, that most of them appeared not to be what most individuals expect. Nine was one to be exact.

"I. . . didn't see you there," I chuckled nervously before looking away, "but, yeah. I guess I really am nervous."

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier, Seven. Even I wasn't expecting that."

_Is he talking about the rumor?_

Nine took a deep breath, and even his way of letting the air out sounded calmer than my nerves. He was the leader, after all. "Do you come here often?"

"It's my first time coming here. Why?"

"I'm not certain whether it's my place to say this or not. . . but before you came back, Zero used to stay here most of the time, if he didn't have any mission. All of us have been affected after knowing you and Five didn't make it that time."

There was a moment of silence, and after that I glanced at Nine, who had a hint of grimace on his face for a second, but it instantly disappeared when he saw me looking at him.

"I'm worried about our teammates, Seven. Not only as a leader, but as a friend, too. I didn't know what to do when Four never left his own room except for missions, I was glad Six had always been there to check up on him. Eight has submitted to experimenting on. . . _a lot of things_. . . ever since Five wasn't there to look after him. But Zero. . ." He exhaled deeply. "That kid has been through a lot. I could say KAIROS was the worst. He didn't have anyone to confide with."

Nine's eyes darted on mine.

"I noticed you are the only one in our team he ever opened up to. I know, it might be too much for you, but I'm sure talking to him can make him feel better."

He paused, before looking away as if he felt embarrassed while closing his eyes.

"Ah. . . I'm sorry for bombarding you with such stressing thoughts. I'm normally not like this with the others around."

"It's okay," I told him amusingly. "You do you, Nine. At least when it's just the two of us. You deserve a break."

Nine went silent for a short moment, then he sighed, nodding slowly. "I guess you're right. I'll consider doing so, maybe after the mission later."

I smiled. "You've gotta let that stress off your head for some time, so if you wanna talk with me, or take a look at the sky, don't hesitate."

"I'll keep that in mind. It was nice talking to you, but I'm afraid I should go. I have to discuss a few more things with Three regarding our mission. See you later, Seven."

He sent me a tiny wave as I returned a nod before he turned to leave. I watched him descend the stairs and soon after I was left alone at the rooftop again.

I almost overlooked Nine. With how he shared the others' situations, who wouldn't be worried? And Zero. . . I never thought Evren would really mean that much to him because she was the only person he felt comfortable with, the way I felt the same for. . .

It was getting dark, and there were thirty minutes left before our departure. I couldn't believe it was only yesterday night when everything already went downhill; I still had to find my own body, but now that my life was entangled with these people, it would only make things harder for me.

I remembered what Dr. Sadik mentioned about being an operative. If hiding these feelings for him—these feelings I wasn't even sure were would not complicate things much further, then so be it.

_Maybe I really shouldn't let my emotions get in the way._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the playlist I've made for this fanfic! And if you're into synthwave and chillstep songs, you'll surely like this.
>
>> 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐒  
> ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴅɢᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴋʏ ᴘʟᴀʏʟɪꜱᴛ
>> 
>> ●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●
>> 
>>   
> Main Theme: A Himitsu - Astray (feat. Madi Larson)
>> 
>> 001: A Himitsu - Lost Within
>> 
>> 002: A Himitsu - Lucid Dream
>> 
>> 003: HOME - Before The Night
>> 
>> 004: Timecop 1983 - Waiting
>> 
>> 005: DOOMROAR - Sagittarius (feat. A.L.I.S.O.N)
>> 
>> 006: A Himitsu - Cease
>> 
>> 007: Emil Rottmayer - Descend
>> 
>> 008: A Himitsu - Isolated Mind
>> 
>> 009: SHAP3S - Swell
>> 
>> 010: Shortwire - Reconfig
>> 
>> 011: A Himitsu - Icy Vindur
>> 
>> 012: She's Not Real - Crystal Panes
>> 
>> 013: Agust D - 28 (feat. NIIHWA)
> 
> Well that's an exception...
>
>> 014: Dimatis - Two Ways
>> 
>> 015: Luicy in Disguise - The Trigger
>> 
>> 016: A Himitsu - Two Worlds
>> 
>> 017: Ferven - Broken
>> 
>> 018: AK - Discovery
>> 
>> 019: 80AM - Somebody
>> 
>> 020: Kojak - Standing Still
>> 
>> 021: ZKAVE - At The Edge
>> 
>> 022: MARION - Nostalgia


	10. The Siren

❦

Before heading to Phantom Alpha's meeting place, I spent the rest of my time zoning out at the rooftop, but I never expected that the meeting place would be held outside PHASe's headquarters already. I put on my ARO, and seeing the others' location, it appeared there were three members who still hadn't arrived there yet—Eight, Four and me. After riding the elevator, I made my way out of the atrium and headed to another elevator that led to the underground lot.

I wasn't the only one to enter as I caught a glimpse of a black, leather jacket out of the corner of my eye. The elevators opened with a ding, an operative then coming out before I made my way inside, eyes looking anywhere but him. The panels slid close. I found my arm brushing slightly against his sleeve, realizing the compartment here was much smaller; it only sent my heart beating erratically.

He normally speaks out at least a word, but the elevator already created a ding and he wasn't saying anything yet, even eye me for once. It felt like I didn't exist, and soon as the doors opened, he began to move, his jacket grazing against my skin.

“Four—” I bit back my tongue, glancing to the side and leaving the compartment before it would close.

As I walked up behind, I caught Six eyeing me with a frown before he met up with Four. He was clearly avoiding me, but if the reason for that was because he also suspected me of siding with KAIROS, I wouldn't blame him, yet him choosing to believe that rumor only made me want to avoid him more as well. Fine then.

I saw Four enter the rover.

“Welcome back to another mission, Seven.” Six grinned.

All I could return was a smile, since it would have been rude of me if I didn't acknowledge his greeting. I noticed there had been Zero resting himself against the rover's hood, who sneaked a glance at me before looking away.

“Where's Eight?”

“I didn't come across him on my way here,” I told Six. “Maybe Four did.”

“I already asked him. He said he didn't see him.” Six looked down on his watch, his brows furrowed. “Another sloppiness. If he shows up late again—”

“There's still five minutes. He should be on his way now." Zero's eyes gazed at the elevator, making me turn around to see Eight coming out just in time.

The Siren's eyes narrowed as they darted towards me. I pressed my lips into a thin line, then turned away to face Zero and Six as Eight joined. For sure Six sensed there was something between me and Eight, but I wouldn't have to care about what happened as I headed toward the rover when I stopped on my tracks to see Zero opening the door for me. The gesture made me flattered, that I sent him a grateful smile with him blushing lightly before I made my way inside.

But all that act of cheesiness disappeared when my eyes darted on Four sitting at the other corner, eyes looking out the window with his gun rested against his knee. I had no other choice but to have myself stuck in between a Wraith and an Infinite, while Six apparently had been making himself too comfortable in the driver's seat, watching the three of us behind with a smirk. It vanished instantly as soon as Eight took a seat in the passenger's and strapped the belt over his chest.

 _“Buckle up, Alpha.”_ Nine's voice went in through the comms. _“Remember to keep your mind focused, the Dragon is involved this time. Three and I will keep in touch and hand out every necessary data to each one of you, and be sure to not spill any information regarding PHASe nor your teammates. Your identities shall remain classified to anyone you will encounter in that district, particularly the Spectrum Club."_

 _“You guys have fifteen minutes on your way to the Fifth District,"_ Three added. _"Six, better take the second shortcut I told you. The first one's currently jammed. An accident, but I'm not sure what it is. I'll have a look at it later.”_

“Will do,” Six responded, before turning to the rest of us after starting the engine. “Should we talk about the sub-units?”

“Sub-units?” I repeated confusingly.

 _“Our team usually divides into sub-units depending on what mission you're assigned to,"_ Nine explained. _"For this mission, since the whole team is present, sub-units are a necessary tool for better communication. You and Zero are specialized in combat, which makes the two of you one unit. Team Devastation, isn't it?”_

I looked at Zero who nodded. I felt relieved inside knowing he would be my partner in most occasions. The rover soon drifted out the basement with Six driving, making my heart beat out of nervousness. I had no idea how combat worked. Did PHASe just expect this body to react naturally despite the trauma? They sure do prioritize their operatives' mental health. Hah.

_“Six himself excels in stealth, as he comes a perfect match with Four. Both of their class names have an affiliation with ghosts which is self-explanatory.”_

_A Specter and a Wraith. Makes sense._

I peeked a glance at Four. He was still not looking at me, so I averted.

_Stop it, Y/N. He's not worth your time now._

_“Eight would be on his own. He and Five used to come in pairs, for they entice and alter their appearance to be able to get the information out of a person. That is why,”_ Nine cleared his throat, _“Seven and Zero, all you'll have to do for this mission is to act as Eight's friends as he interacts with the people inside that club. The only time you would be using your combat skills is when a casualty happens. Protect Eight as much as possible from any danger.”_

“I can protect myself,” Eight mumbled in annoyance.

_“The three of you will be called as Emissary, so before you enter the club and make yourselves known, Six shall infiltrate the place to notify when it's clear. Call us whenever you guys need help. Three and I will keep our comms on.”_

If Four had a gun, of course there'd be a casualty, yet I hoped nothing else would happen with Phantom Beta, Gamma and Delta as back ups. I could hear Three saying something encouragingly, but half of my mind had been drifting gradually into my own thoughts. In spite of the nervousness in me, there was something about everything here that felt too familiar, as if I had been in a situation like this before, but it was too vague for me to get a proper thought of it. I felt something soft and warm on my hand, seeing Zero having his placed on it.

“Don't worry,” he whispered a moment after Six turned the stereo on. “I'm going to protect you too, Seven.”

My eyes lifted up to meet with his. “That's what Dev Team is for, right?”

He looked taken aback of what I said. Even I had no idea of how those words came out of my mouth. It just felt like I had to say it.

“Yeah. . .” Zero looked away, but even though it was dark, I could sense his cheeks surely heating up again. I didn't know what to react to his subtle liking for me. I admired him for his kindness other than him being an Infinite, however, I was sure my feelings wouldn't go beyond that. But I didn't want to hurt him either.

He was years behind. . . I didn't know what my age was, but being in Evren's body, Zero was having romantic feelings toward a 26 year-old woman. How on earth would I react to that?

Zero finally retracted his hand. I kept my arms crossed during the ride, my mind flowing along with the beats, except for the fact that I couldn't stop myself from stealing a glance at Four from time to time, wondering what could be possibly filling his mind. I had to scold myself for I just told myself earlier that I shouldn't let my emotions get in the way, but with how Four was suddenly ignoring me I didn't know if I ever could roll with this.

I wanted to know the reason why he was avoiding me. I wanted to hear him talk to me, even if he were to talk about that rumor.

I just wanted to hear his voice.

“Six.”

Speaking of, I did hear his voice. It was a plain monotone, but it never failed to send my heart beating.

“Yeah, Four?” Six glanced through the front mirror, causing my eyes to lock with him accidentally. Shoot. He just read my mind, for he was making a grin again before his eyes darted away into the road.

“I'll head to my position.”

“What? Already?"

“Less distraction.”

“That gives a double meaning." Six eyed me, making me look away. 

_So I'm a distraction then?_

“Don't you wanna loosen up in the club?”

“Not funny.” Four was annoyed. I couldn't get my eyes back on him now after hearing him snap at Six. Even the guy was surprised, though he kept himself cool with the driving. All I could do to keep myself from slipping into the awkwardness filling the air was to mess with my ARO as I viewed some information about the Fifth District.

°

The rover was soon left by Six who had been gone for five minutes, leaving me, Zero, and Eight as the vehicle was parked near a public area. Four had left as well. It seemed like most districts here usually open their stores and other buildings at night, since the road was mostly filled with vehicles and the crowd dissipating and huddling through the streets. Everything here was full of life that it felt like time and silence were non-existent.

Soon Six called us through the comms, saying it was clear. The three of us left the rover and entered an alley, and even here there were people lingering the food stands and stores; it was a lot more different than the alley I found myself. Eight was leading the way, and soon after passing by a few more blocks, we stopped in front of one of those fruit vendors. The lady was bending down arranging her oranges, before looking up at us warily, yet Eight took a step forward with his eyes glowing pink that the light reflected against the woman's eyes.

“ _Forget you saw us, dear~_ ” Eight formed a menacing smile, then slowly the woman nodded, before stepping to the side.

Behind her stall seemed to be a doorway leading to a dirty kitchen. But when Zero and I followed inside, it wasn't a dirty kitchen. A narrow path of darkness was what we passed through before we sheered to the right and ascended the steep staircase. The sound of EDM sounded louder, vibrating beneath my feet every step I took.

“Zero. Your cue,” Eight called.

Zero knelt in front of the door, and I wasn't sure what he was doing with his augs activating, but I took a guess that it was locked and he was hacking into opening it. After a few seconds, the door opened with a hiss. We entered the doorway and I felt so suspicious about no one suspecting of our arrival. Everything was just. . . too easy.

The interior came into view with the lights flickering into shifting colors every time the beat dropped, making my eyes squint. The music was louder, and I noticed we were standing at a balcony as I looked down to see the dance floor was far below us, packed with countless people shouting and jumping while shooting their fists into the sky as if there was no tomorrow. At the other side lay more balconies and staircases connecting to each floor, where a bar was situated in the middle.

“Wanna take a look around?” Zero asked, making me look at him in surprise.

“What about Eight?”

We turned to see the pink-haired man slightly grooving. It was the three of us again that the moment in the rooftop only made things harder for me to go with the flow after what happened.

Eight's brows arched as soon as he noticed Zero and I looking at him uncertainly. “What? Can't I tag along? I haven't been in a bar outside PHASe for a long time."

Zero squinted, watching the crowd below, his gestures clearly showing discomfort. "You've been going out every night at places like this." 

"It's a part of my mission! Besides, better enjoy it while it doesn't last~"

“But we have a _mission_ —”

“Who said a mission means not having a bit of fun?”

He suddenly grabbed Zero and I's arms, but this time he wasn't squeezing it to death, and for a second there was a sparkle of pink in his eyes as he turned to us with a playful grin and led us down the stairs toward the dance floor.

“Let me inform you rookies are in a party, and I just saw a KAIROS operative in that bar cause I'm sure I've seen him before. Now it's either you two are dating and I'm the third wheel, or I'll tell Nine one of you aren't doing your job well. How about that?"

“Eight!” Zero looked nonplussed and flustered at the same time, for I could see his cheeks blazing despite the blinking lights. “We—we're _not_ —”

“Dating or _married_ , you choose.” He sent Zero a glare, before pulling our arms along.

I heaved a sigh and glanced at Zero, who clearly wasn't liking the idea, but I guessed it was better than anything else. Eight somehow could be creative with pretenses and so was I, so there was no other choice for Zero but to play along.


	11. P.IRM11-78

❦

“ _Jun Jun~_ " Eight called in a not so flirtatious manner, but you could tell he was trying to catch the small guy's attention, and when I say _small_ , I'm talking about the _height_. Zero and I stood behind Eight who was too comfortable in scooting over the high chair and leaning himself forward. It seemed like he was not using his augs yet, preferably to make himself more genuine into befriending the bartender. Then there my eyes landed—a glimpse of the Blue Wings's insignia peeking out from his collar as his head turned to look at Eight.

Jun Jun stared back at Eight with his eyes narrowed that the creases around his monolids went deeper, then he noticed Zero and I. “How did you know my name?”

Eight gasped dramatically, placing his hand on his mouth. “You don't remember me? You don't remember that _handsome_ Latino buying you a d—”

“How in PHASe's _filthy_ secrets would I know?” He slammed the shot glass, looking at us angrily. “What are your names? If you come here to piss around then I suggest you to leave.”

Eight spared me a glance, then turned back to the guy. His eyes began to glow.

“ _We just wanna know what PHASe is up to,_ " he said slowly. "I heard they're freaking out with KAIROS back on tracks—but they shouldn't, right? They're having too much insecurities now that KAIROS has become more powerful.”

Word per word, it felt like I was being carried away with Eight's soothing and neutral tone. The bartender's eyes softened after, with his shoulders slowly relaxing yet his fists clenching tighter, the words etching into his mind as his mouth opened to speak. “. . . I thought you didn't know. No one knows KAIROS is back, it's such a pain in everyone's neck here. At least High Priestess and her loyal Seeker would be present tonight.”

“I heard of it, too.” Eight nodded. “It was actually one of your members who recruited us three, but we still haven't gotten our titles yet that's why we didn't have an invitation card. She's got us VIPs all in.”

“No wonder. . ." He tilted his head, eyes shifting from left to right to make sure no one else was nearby. “You must know about _**P.IRM11-78.**_ ”

I made a mental note on that, and with the P and next letters and numbers, it should be something related to a plan. Eight glanced at me sideways as if asking for support, and it seemed like Zero was even more clueless about it. I looked at the bartender. “It's a project, isn't it?”

“That's what I've heard. That's why I'm asking you if you know what exactly it is. Everyone in KAIROS doesn't know except for High Priestess and Temperance, and the mid-tiers, Artemis and Caron."

“ _Caron_?” I asked subconsciously. _I thought it was Icarus? And who was this Caron. . . He or she wasn't listed in the info!_

“We're sorry about what happened with Icarus," Eight intervened. "KAIROS lost one of the most loyal allies they ever had. I'm glad there is now a new replacement to KAIROS' hound.”

Jun Jun snickered. “Tsk, you could say it for yourself. I heard that Caron's a mere softie to Artemis. Had no idea where that dude came from, but he's too far from fitting into this business. Heard he hated violence and whatnot. Makes a lot of trouble if you wanna know, like that car accident outside Fifth District? High Priestess better think about placing the dude in that position twice.”

“Yeah, I sure heard of that accident. . ." The glow in his eyes disappeared. "Can we have some vodka?”

“Uh, Eight,” Zero swallowed, “I don't drink—”

“Are they your friends?” Jun Jun's eyebrow raised, the redness on his ears fading and soon his mood seemed to lighten up at the sight of Zero. “You know, boy, you gotta man up and learn how to drink. First time, eh?"

“Of course~” Eight smirked, looking at Zero whose eyes avoided me in embarrassment. Then the Siren's eyes flashed as Jun Jun glanced back at him. “I'm Carlos by the way, and they are my friends.”

“ _Carlos_. . . Yeah, I remember. You're the one who bought me _that_.” Jun Jun nodded, his mouth lifting to a flirtatious smirk before looking at Zero. “What's the name, boy?”

“Ian,” Zero mumbled. I looked up at my ARO and saw a name appear sent by Three. My name here was Lyra, okay.

“How about you, beautiful lady?”

 _Beautiful lady_ —I set my eyes on the guy. _Was he talking about me? But they're seeing Evren and not me so, sure._ I formed a smile. “I'm Lyra. Nice to meet you."

“Do you drink?”

 _I don't know_. “Once,” I lied.

Jun Jun smirked. “Wanna hang out with me later?”

“Ahaha!” Eight laughed yet it sounded a bit forceful. “Pardon me, Jun. I didn't mention these two are currently dating.”

“What?”

“Ian and Lyra.” Eight gaped at us, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Zero trying to not look so flustered. He wasn't used to this, I felt bad for him now. “You know, these two really are perfect for each other. It's the stereotype when males are supposed to act all tough and mighty to their girlfriends, but their relationship is just so raw for me. Ian really has no experience with drinking, so I thought it'd be nice for Lyra to give him a shot.”

Okay, Eight was getting too far.

Jun Jun let out a hysterical laugh. “Man! That's why this guy doesn't drink! He couldn't even look at me in the eye 'cause he's too shy—”

“ _Who said I am?_ ” Zero's doe eyes disappeared in an instant with his sharp gaze piercing into Jun Jun's widened eyes, causing me to look at him in surprise, so did Eight. Zero glanced over the racks, before pulling out something from his jacket and sliding it over the table. “ _Kamikaze. Three shots._ ”

☪

_I'm screwed_. All because of what Six told me, I now couldn't get a hold of myself thinking about that she was actually alive. But it was just too impossible to begin with, and if she were alive all along, then why didn't I get to know about her? Why, until now, didn't we still get in contact? What was her reason for moving here in Olympia and pretending she was recruited by PHASe when I found out she was not?

With these surging thoughts, I couldn't think straight. I avoided Seven, that it made feel so stupid for not even talking with her, or at least look at her. We were inside that elevator but due to the information that had me out of this world again, I pretended as if she wasn't there, so why would I expect for her to chase me when I was the one who started ignoring her?

I saw Zero holding her hand in that car. I did. Now I didn't know whether I should apologize to her after being so unreasonable, after seeing as if she was now getting comfortable with him.

Then I remembered. He confessed to her before. It just made sense to why she seemed to be fond of the kid.

That moment when she held my hand in my room, and her voice mixing with the comforting silence, slowly began to fade into the darkness of forgotten memories. 

The wind out here was colder, since I was lying on my stomach on the rooftop not too long ago with my arms rested against the gun's stand. And because of the silence keeping me company, my mind automatically started to be filled with countless thoughts, wondering what would happen after this mission was over.

The thought of Seven and I still hanging out with each other seemed too impossible now. KAIROS was slowly climbing on their way to the top again to crumble everything down.

I let out a curse under my breath, massaging the bridge of my nose as I maintained my augs from activating on their own.

_Breathe. Just apologize to her later._

I hoped I wouldn't have to use this gun now, but knowing they were entering the enemy's territory, the possibilities of pulling the trigger were a high chance.

_“Hey, Enzo~”_

I sighed, disabling the mute button. “What do you want, Six?”

_“Just wanna let you know, Emissary made it inside. I'm on my way back to grab the rover for standby.”_

“You sure no one's following you?”

 _“Does that even matter?”_ He chuckled through the line. _“Don't worry, this blond'll surely lose track of me.”_

My eyes widened. “Six!”

_“I'll have him cornered before I take the rover. Talk to ya in a bit~”_

The comms ended abruptly. I heaved a sigh for I was worried about Six, yet I hoped nothing bad would happen. Someone was following him and surely it could be someone from KAIROS. I called Nine up, then told him of Six's current situation before ending the calls to check up on how Eight and the others were doing.

_“Info obtained successfully. Do you see any threat around the area, Four?”_

Peeking through the hole, I activated the VR.

The screen appeared in low quality, but due to my augmentation I was able to distinguish Eight, Seven and Zero throughout the cacophony of flickering lights. Eight seemed to be talking to someone—a bartender maybe, while Seven and Zero were standing behind.

“One from KAIROS. Seems harmless to me," I replied. "So far there's no one else.”

_“Alright. I'll go check on Six and slide back to you in a moment.”_

Nine hung up. After a moment of watching through the screen, Zero pulled out something and handed it over the table.

The bartender returned with three glasses, Zero taking three shots in a row that had me surprised. Then he suddenly pulled Seven down the stairs, I had to adjust the VR all the way down to the dance floor after seeing Eight follow the two. My eyes narrowed, as it became difficult for me to see through them due to the crowd, and then the light flickered for a moment.

It went still.

Eight was standing a few meters away, but he stopped on his tracks after pushing himself out the crowd toward the middle of the dance floor. I moved the VR a little to the right.

Two bodies against each other, with one's hand holding the other's neck and pulling them close.

Zero's kissing Seven.

I snapped my eyes out of the screen and turned it off, closing my eyes as I certainly was feeling frustrated at myself. Yes, at myself. I felt grateful I wasn't loading the gun yet, but before I would force what I had seen out of my mind that sent me a mixed feeling of anger and emptiness, there was a sudden call coming from Six.

“Hello?—”

_“Four, get out of there. Now.”_

He sounded like panting as if he were the one being chased instead, making my heart pound heavily as I rose from my position and placed the gun inside its case. “What's going on?”

_“Get the three of them out that bar—it's a trap!”_

“What do you mean it's a trap?! Where are you?”

 _“They're gonna take Zero and Eight, but surely they're not letting Seven off the hook. High Priestess won't be there—none of KAIROS is coming—that bartender wasn't one of them either—”_ Six muttered a curse _“—Just move it._ Hurry _!”_

“Fine!” Brows furrowing, I began to move out and sprint down the stairway as the wind swept pass me, thoughts of Seven in danger causing me to run faster. Alleys and dark, empty streets welcomed me until a familiar signage came into view a few more blocks away.

The gun I held didn't feel any heavier than the heart throbbing in my chest. It was a trap. I knew this wasn't going to end well, even PHASe themselves never anticipated KAIROS' plans. My legs felt like aching but it didn't stop me from taking a wider sprint just so I could reach the Spectrum. I had to keep that picture away in my mind. Seven and the others were in danger, but if none of KAIROS were there, then why would Six want me to get them?

“Six,” I called, my voice shaking as I ran, “tell me you're okay.”

No response.

“Answer, _dammit!_ ”

I ended the call and decided to call onto Nine to inform of what's happening, but there was no response as well. I dialed Three to call for back-up, and as I was standing before the entrance with the security guard eyeing me strangely I nearly wanted to smash the comms after receiving no response from any of the other team, even Ten. The lines went static, a voice stating the connection was lost.

_What on earth was going on?_

Making my way inside and ignoring the guard who told me to stop, I was immediately disturbed by the scattering lights and loud music after wending out the curtains. I found myself lost amidst different people screaming their voices out and dancing, I then keeping my head lowered and eyes keen in locating Seven, Zero and Eight through my ARO. The air was so dense, I couldn't get a proper breathe as I inhaled sharply at the feeling of being close to thousands of people with their sweaty skin grazing against my arm; I had to shove the case under my arm.

_Where are you, Seven?_

I looked through my ARO. There were only two cursors left blinking, and the one that seemed to be Eight's was suddenly turned off, or probably gone. My head lifted up as my eyes squinted to see through the lights, everything around me shifting to a world of crimson before catching onto a pair of white figures at the topmost floor, the other one struggling to pull the other to its feet.

Towards the other end of the balcony, there were three men, but I couldn't get a catch on their identity, making me confused when one of them pulled out a weapon.

 _Seven!_ I gasped and hurried toward the stairs. The music was a pure chaos to my mind but I made sure I was keeping my eyes to where she and Zero were after seeing they were in danger. I now had no idea who those men were. They didn't appear to be KAIROS operatives after having myself reached to the balcony with my breath panting, and then my eyes locked with one of them.

The man with the weapon halted, even the two ones behind him. Now that I was able to get a clear sight of them, it appeared they were all wearing masks, yet I couldn't see any insignia even through my augmentations. I put the briefcase down.

“Four!”

I turned around to see Seven looking at me in fright, seeing Zero being unconscious and yet before she could warn me of what was behind I had sensed it beforehand, ducking and sending a punch to the man with the weapon. My augs increased and everything became redder, as I cursed at the feeling of the other guy's hand grabbing my other arm. I winced at the blade slashing against my side as I elbowed the second man right to the Adam's apple. Stumbling backwards, I dodged the first man's blade and saw the third man to attack me, but I caught onto a glimpse of purple hair through my peripheral.

I realized I had my hands wrapped around the blade to stop it from piercing through my chest, my eyes staring at a pair of ones devoid of a soul. I felt the blood dripping out of the cuts on my palms with the blade being forced forward, as I found a way through by my knee jagging onto the man's crotch. He let out a shrill cry as he fell to his knees.

Turning my head to the side, I slashed the dagger against the last man's back while snaking my arm around his neck.

Seven pushed herself off the wall and began punching him to the jaw. I heard a loud crack, before his weight went heavier and I let him fall on top of the first man's unconscious body. It was a miracle that my augs deactivated to my will, and my vision cleared as I was able to get a vivid sight of Seven staring at the bodies. Our eyes locked, before something picked up through my hearing so I wheeled around looking down the balcony.

There were more of them, making their way up here.

I grabbed the case. _Who are these people? They couldn't be. . ._

“What's going on?”

I turned to see Seven staring at me in pure confusion and fear. As much as I wanted to hug her to stop her from feeling afraid, I went for the door leading to outside, to where Zero had his body slumped against the wall. As I grabbed one of his arms and put them around my shoulders, Seven caught up and did the same. I even had no time to explain what was going on, but for one thing I was able to make sure that things weren't getting better.

“ _Four. . ._ ”

I heard her voice again. Now she called my name twice, so I looked at her. “Where's Eight?”

“I don't know. He's just gone after—" she looked away “—after Zero. . . kissed me.”

I turned my head towards the doorway, gritting my teeth. “Come on.”

“Where are we going? And our other teammates—”

“Even I have no idea what's going on, Seven.” My eyes pierced through her, though I felt guilty of my voice raising in annoyance. “I don't know where we're going, but the last thing I'd want for now is going back to PHASe.”


	12. City Pursuit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger Warning:** Major Character Death at the end. The chapter literally goes from fluff to angst to adrenaline rush and then to despair. Buckle up y'all, read at your own risk.

❦

I mustered the remaining strength I had left for us to be able to reach the station as we dragged an unconscious Zero all the way through the streets.

It had to take up turning corners and slipping through narrow alleys knowing there were men I never knew of chasing after us. And the fact that Zero was near as twice heavier than Four and I combined, every part of my body seemed to scream at me in pain. I noticed it was raining lightly, yet people were still going out lingering in the lively streets of the night as the endless noise of the city didn't do any help to the fact that my legs and neck were straining with Zero's arm heavily weighing down on me.

Four took to a halt, so I also stopped and took a deep breath. We were in the middle of an alleyway and the lights of the open area leading to the station which looked pretty near if I were to encourage myself. Suddenly, I felt the weight on my shoulders lift. Turning to Four, he was unbelievably holding Zero with one hand while his other hand held the briefcase where his gun was contained.

He held it out to me. "You carry this. I'll take care of Zero."

I stared at him, before looking down at the case and my hand hesitatingly taking it. It was heavy, but apparently lighter than Zero's arm. "How are you supposed to-"

He hovered Zero's arms over his shoulders as he bent down to place Zero's thighs on either side of his waist, his arms lifting them under before he rose on his feet. I looked at Four in surprise; it was like he was giving a drunk Zero a piggyback ride the way guys would carry their girlfriends who were too drunk to walk. Although I couldn't help but chuckle despite Four glaring at me, it turned out he was as strong as the Infinite. "You look cute."

_Oh my gosh, Y/N. Did you just say that?_

Eyes widening, I looked away in embarrassment after seeing Four eye me with his eyebrow raised.

"I mean," I swallowed, " _you two_ look cute." I gestured to him and Zero in an internal state of panic with my heart thumping fast. "You and Zero look like those couples-"

"I know that telling you I'm straight isn't relevant, but I'd prefer carrying you instead."

My heart only beat faster, feeling my cheeks so hot partly because of carrying Zero and running, but other than that, Four was definitely playing with his words again. I knew I shouldn't fall for it, but it just kept on making these uncertain feelings I had for him grow more, like I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to.

"I was joking." Four looked away. "Let's go. They might catch us if we don't move sooner."

I mentally told my heart to calm down as we fast walked up the alley; it was a good thing I brought my hood with me to keep the rain from soaking into my hair and to hide my face which was surely turning red. My hand wrapped around the briefcase's handle tightly, silence interceding. The distant noise of the city and the raindrops splattering on the roofs was what I could only hear, yet my mind was already being filled with thoughts once again.

_Those guys who attacked us. . . Who are they? Why were the comms cut off all of a sudden? Is PHASe even aware of what happened-wait, Four said we're not going back there, but what about our teammates? If PHASe had something to do with those guys, Nine and Three could be possibly involved, but I don't want to believe it._

My grip on the briefcase tightened.

 _If they were then. . ._ I glanced at Four. _There's Eight and Six, too. They still haven't showed up._

I wanted to ask Four what happened to our teammates, and even I couldn't think straight of whatever place we're heading to. It felt like everything we'd have our feet stepped onto would lead to another mess.

Speaking of Four. . . He could have seen Zero kissing me through his VR, so I had no choice but to tell him about it a while ago. It was unintentional, and Zero was not in the right mind; I even had to pull him all the way up to the balcony for I saw Eight return there, but then the Siren disappeared. Everything confused me, even that P.IRM11-78.

After making it out the alley and crossing the pedestrian lane, Four and I headed to the parking area, as I had my ARO scan the surroundings to see the place had neither KAIROS nor PHASe identities around. We crossed the lawn and sneaked through the bushes, away from the security's radar. Both of us didn't excel in stealth, so the shadows were a huge help except for that annoying flashlight automatically rotating on its own. Four and I settled behind a tree, and I could see him struggling to keep Zero over his back.

"Put him down," I told him, to which he returned a confused look. "I'll pretend I'm his girlfriend-" I saw him avert, his eyes hardening a little "-it's actually our role in the mission. I can handle it."

Four looked back at me, and then he brought Zero down as he helped me hold him by shifting our stances. I placed Zero's arm over my shoulder. "Just be careful," he said, his tone almost in a whisper.

I nodded, forming a tiny smile and making another glance to see Four still looking at me intently. Dragging Zero along, I staggered towards the guard house, to which had the security's attention drawn to me in an instant as soon as the light faced me, making my eyes squint. I raised my arm while pretending to struggle under Zero's arm.

"Excuse me, can you help us?" I changed my voice into a weak, high-pitched tone that I thought sounded like cringe. A few seconds later there were a pair of men emerging from the light, seeing that they had guns.

"What do you need help with?"

"Ian here's too drunk," I explained sheepishly. "I don't know where he lives. We just met. . . in a bar, a while ago. I'd feel bad if I left him out on his own."

"Aish, another one of these teenagers," the security mumbled to the other one. "We've got patrol every night and these youngsters keep _wasting_ their time being a disgrace to their parents. You get the GPS inside, Ross."

"But I don't know where it is," Ross complained.

The man muttered a curse under his breath angrily, shaking his head. "Fine, _I'll_ go get it. Just watch over these kids and make sure none of them does anything stupid."

He turned to walk back toward the house, Ross then sending us a glare while holding his gun as if showing it off.

I tilted my head to the side. "Hey, do you have water?"

"What makes you think I have one?-" His eyes widened as a hand clamped over his mouth, then after a while his eyes rolled upwards, lids closing as he fell to the ground. I looked up at Four, then bent down to grab the gun and then slide it into Zero's jacket. He carried Zero on his back once again.

We passed through the gateway towards the rear lobby, finally entering the empty corridor and rounding a few hallways before successfully blending into the crowd in the main lobby. I could see people giving Four strange looks, but he seemed too eager in getting inside the train to care about it. We had our wrists scanned after falling in line patiently to make sure we didn't look like runaway folks, until we entered into the subway.

A voice was speaking through the speakers as the rowdy crowd rushed from here to there. I stepped up the train and entered the doorway, heart pounding at the thought of leaving P.H.A.N.T.A.S.M just like that. Four followed in, and soon we found ourselves amidst a compartment filled with people we did not know of.

I helped him place Zero on the seat. He and I were one of those who stood. I looked around while wrapping my hand tightly against the handle above me as the doors slid close and the train began to move, the voiceover announcing it was time for departure. At least people were respectful enough to let the elderly and disabled have the seats instead.

After looking around, I returned my head back ahead, only for my eyes to look straight into his eyes. Due to the compartment packed with people, the distance between us were merely a few inches away that I had to look down.

I could smell a faint scent of vanilla and peppermint on him. He didn't put any perfume before.

"Where's this train headed to?" I whispered, enough for him to hear.

"Somewhere away from PHASe."

I could feel his breath so close, then after a moment of silence, I held back the gasp in me when I felt his fingers brush against my hand that was hanging freely to the side. My heart thumped, as his hand went to hold it now firmly, that it reminded me of how I held his hands last night. The longing I've had had been fulfilled, but it seemed like I wanted more. So I looked up at him, his eyes meeting with mine.

"I'm sorry. . . for ignoring you for no reason."

_Four. . . I didn't want to ignore you either._

His eyes flicked to the side. "I was caught up in my mind. It's because of Six telling me something that's just. . . too impossible."

"What is it?"

Four closed his eyes, then sighed. "He said. . . my friend is alive. She was the reason why I signed up in PHASe."

I stared at him. "Your friend?"

"She meant so much to me that I followed her here in Olympia, but she disappeared. There was no record of her in PHASe even when she told me they recruited her. . . She was gone for nearly ten years, so I'd say it's impossible that she's alive."

I nodded, thinking that Four actually had someone he cared for. Seeing him now, removed those memories of seeing his soulless eyes staring at me in that alley.

"She was supposed to be an operative, not me. Maybe if she were alive then, I guess you'd be talking to her now instead."

"What's her name?"

Four looked back at me.

It took a moment with our eyes gazing into each other deeply, and those obsidian hues somehow trying to find who I really was inside sent me a nostalgic feeling.

"Her name. . . It's-"

Both of our heads turned toward the stirring noise, to which Zero sat up groaning while holding his head. Four and I glanced at each other, making my heart beat for a second due to the small distance between us and I could feel the person's back behind pressing against me, that the amount of people filled inside the train felt like sardines packed in a can.

"Seven?" Zero called out. I turned to see his cheeks blushing; I realized of what happened before and I didn't know what to say upon remembering how Four even carried him on his own all the way here but the Wraith broke the silence.

"Evening, kid."

"W-What happened?" Zero asked as he returned to his senses and looked around confusingly.

Four looked out the window. "We're basically damned."

"I-I don't get it. Where's Eight? And the others? Why are we here-"

An abrupt halt sent the crowd yelling and screaming. I felt my hands slipping off the handle and my body jerking backwards as shouts and curses were everywhere, the impact sending the ground vibrating with currents of electricity buzzing and the lights flickering for a moment. I was breathing hard, but I felt something holding my back for I found myself staring at Four's widened eyes as he panted lightly.

There was a siren wailing and as the two of us got back on our feet, some people were pounding their fists against the window shouting for help. The lights were still flickering and I saw Zero jolt off the bench to join me and Four, who beckoned for us to follow him through the crowd. As we pushed our way through, people were sending us glares, but I only glanced out the window to see bright lights coming from the buildings outside before the speakers blared that caused the three of us to stop.

_"ATTENTION, OLYMPIANS. WE HAVE RECEIVED NOTIF FROM P.H.A.N.T.A.S.M OF THE BLUE WINGS' RETURN AS THEY ARE CURRENTLY PROWLING THE STREETS OF THIS DISTRICT-PLEASE REMAIN INSIDE THE TRAIN AS WE SORT THINGS OUT-ALL. . .OVER. . ."_

A thud resounded from the speakers, then the lines were cut. Four and I looked at each other.

"Seven, Four-" I felt Zero tapping my shoulder from behind, making me turn around "-what happened in Spectrum?" His eyes averted. "I-I don't remember much of what happened, but I think I saw some men-"

"They're not from KAIROS." Four turned away and began to move.

I knew now was not the time to explain these things, given that the train suddenly taking to a stop was not done on purpose but intercepted, and I didn't know whether it had been done by PHASe itself for they had tracked us already, or if KAIROS had reached the station's operation unit. I turned to Zero, who looked quite annoyed at Four.

"He's right, Zero," I told him, making his eyes widen. "There are men who attacked us, but they're not KAIROS operatives, so I called our teammates one by one and Four did even call for back-up from the other teams but no one answered. It's like they cut the lines off and I don't know why." I spared him a glance, before turning to follow after Four towards the conductor. "Come on."

"Wait."

I turned around.

"Seven I-" he swallowed, eyes avoiding mine and cheeks reddening "-I'm sorry for doing it. I was out of my mind."

I stared at him for a few seconds, and then I smiled lightly. "Make sure to know your limit next time. You have no idea how much Four put the efforts of giving you a piggy-back ride."

He looked at me in disbelief, but I only chuckled and made my way through, Zero then following me from behind. The air was denser now that people were panicking, yet I couldn't believe I even had the guts to chuckle and joke around with Zero as if no one was after us. As we entered an opening that led to a door to the conductor's room, my brows furrowed upon seeing that Four was not around. I felt sweat trickling all over my face, so I walked up near the door. Zero crouched down beside me and began to examine the lock, his eyes glowing blue.

The entire train shook as I heard an explosion from outside that sent me down toward the ground. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped and the screams of the crowd from behind increased.

_Where on earth is Four?_

"You okay?" Zero held my arm.

I looked at the door before closing my eyes and heaving a sigh. I felt my heart pounding fast, then I inhaled deeply. "Yeah, I-I'm okay." 

I rose on my feet, my legs feeling wobbly at first while Zero held me from falling back.

The door slid open. We shot our heads toward fumes of smoke hissing out all over the doorway when Four barged out with a bruise on his cheek and blood oozing out from the corner of his mouth. He ran towards us, crashing his body against us before we had the time to react. Zero and I fell to the ground on our backs with Four's arms pinning ours, before an explosion detonated just right in front of us. The conductor's room was set ablaze and another explosion erupted with the walls being destroyed and debris shooting into the air; I had to close my eyes away from the deafening noises of screams.

My skin felt like burning, caused by the heat of the flames being whooshed by the strong wind, and as I opened my eyes with Four and Zero sitting up, we were at the edge of the concrete, the walls now set on fire and a river a thousand feet below waiting for us in the darkness.

The railings were diverged. At the other side stood a figure of a woman, and although she looked like a shadow almost swept by the wind, I caught a glimpse of a gun in her hand, aimed towards us.

I grabbed Four's shoulders, pushing him to the side, but before I could move any further, I felt pain shooting all over my body. Blood rose up to my throat, until I could no longer move.

" _SEVEN_!!!"

There was another explosion at the other side, my vision blurring soon enough for me to fall into someone's arms and lose consciousness.


	13. Messenger of The Night

☪

My hands were shaking.

Every part of my body did, for everything just happened in a glance. I wasn't able to stop her and now I was trembling as I held her body. It happened all over again, but my mind was clear unlike before and I couldn't bring myself to move a single inch with my arms holding Seven.

I held my body from making such movement as the railings on the other side exploded, despite it sending a ringing to my ears while shooting my head toward the fire. The silhouette of the person vanished into the bright flames and disappeared out of my sight.

_Seven, no. . ._

I gritted my teeth, turning back to Seven, not knowing if I should call for help for doing so might attract ourselves to PHASe and even KAIROS. There was no pulse coming from her. I wanted to feel the tears in my eyes but there was none. It was plain dry along with the heat surrounding us as I had to suppress the voices hissing inside my mind, the screams of the crowd as they gathered by the doorframe to see what happened not doing any help. I looked up to see Zero in tears while shaking Seven's shoulder. . .

_No-don't do this- hold on. . . **Please.**_

All I knew was blood scattered everywhere and the smoke intoxicating my breathing, my mind gradually falling over the place and becoming more vague than before but my hands pressing against Seven's wound to stop it from bleeding, yet it was no use. The bullet didn't look familiar for I didn't see what type of gun the person wielded.

"Four," Zero croaked.

I looked up, and following where his head was turned to, which was the crowd huddling next to each other, some were being pushed to the side as they jeered and shouted in anger before a familiar face emerged from the hubbub and made his way out towards us.

_Six?_

He looked worn out even more and it seemed like he had spent the whole time he was gone running all over Olympia. His eyes had been glowing as if he were finding that person beyond the flames at the other side for a moment, before running towards the edge of the train where the three of us were and then crouching before me. I caught Zero about to say something when the Specter's eyes widened and the glow in his eyes flickered after he turned his head over his shoulder behind. There was a flash of light and distinct noise of men coming from within the crowd.

He wheeled around, eyes widening and charging towards our direction.

"What the-" my mind spun, Six about to grab my arm and Zero's but I seized his wrist beforehand "-Six, what are you-"

"They're after us."

"Seven's _gone_!" I raged. "Can't you see?"

He looked away, eyes drooping. ". . . She's been dead for a long time, Four."

"What," I stared at him; something inside of me instantly clicked, but then I pushed the outrageous thought aside.

"If you still want to live, come with me."

"You're just gonna come up here and tell us what to do," Zero scowled, moving to stand as he wrenched his arm out of Six's grip, "like Seven being killed by whomever that moron is isn't a big deal to you-"

Gunshots resounded from inside the compartment, and before anything else would turn a bit more before my eyes, all I felt was my body plunging backwards off the rails after it had been pushed abruptly by Six's hand, the gun falling out of my jacket as I plummeted through the air and my mind spinning faster before feeling the bleak, murky waters swallow me. My eyes felt like burning with my augs activating that everything around me went crimson. I clamped my mouth shut to not let the surging waters in and closed my eyes to shut the currents away, then wheeled around upon sensing movement underwater, opening my eyes.

As I caught a glimpse of two, white bodies pushing their way up the surface, my lungs screamed for oxygen. I pushed myself up the current and gasped for air, my body flailing backwards as gunshots could be heard from above and ripples began searing through the waters a few feet away from us.

"Shoot. Over here!" Six beckoned and swam further under the overpass.

I followed him with Zero swimming close behind as the mixed scent of oil and gas lingering on the air entered my nostrils, that it only made things worse with the cold current sending chills and soaking into my skin despite having more than a couple of layers of clothes. Shadows loomed over as we fought our way against the surging waters, but despite my body knowing what to do now with it acting progressively, my mind felt stuck inside that memory.

As vivid and clear that it angered me the most, I didn't even do anything to stop the bleeding. I knew it could have been the bullet, but I knew I should've done something to. . . She's been dead for a long time, then what even was that supposed to mean?

I talked to her. Held her hand. Listened to her voice. If Seven had been gone for a long time, then who was that?

Was I hallucinating, out of my mind for months since she died?

Is this the price of choosing to become a monster. . . to accept that everything I get to love disappears?

"Four!"

I was shivering from the coldness biting into my skin, the voice of Six making me snap off my thoughts and then involuntarily reaching out to take his hand before he and Zero pulled me out the river. As my knees landed on the ground, I brought myself to my feet. I hadn't realized there was someone besides the three of us in the tunnel, my head shooting toward a sudden movement within the shadows.

" _Looks like she failed._ "

My heart pounded unevenly. _That voice. . ._

From the shadows emerged a figure of a hooded man, and since it was dark, I couldn't make the face out clearly, but the tone of his sounded familiar with the texture of his voice except for the way he talked. It was like hearing a voice that had been taken away of innocence. Then he stepped forward and pulled of his hood.

I nearly cursed, but I shut my mouth despite the fact of being done with all that's happened. It was so much for a night to others, but it was just the edge of the storm for seeing a pair of jacinthe, glowing hues under strands of blond curls and bronze skin was not enough to fit into a night full of crap. It looked so impossible, should I further add the fact of what seemed to be to my opinion of Six being aware that someone else was here.

" _Five?_ " Zero stepped back in shock.

He spared Zero a glance, then back to me. "Your eyes are undeniably red."

"What?" My brows furrowed. "My augs are off-"

"You are in tears." He tilted his head, eyes darting to the side towards Six. " _Got attached too fast._ "

I turned to Six, who looked like he had no choice but to nod in agreement.

"What on earth's going on, Six?" Zero asked breathlessly. "How in Olympia is Five alive?"

"Remember when my comms had been cut?"

Now it was him who was avoiding our gaze entirely while I desperately looked for answers. I was at the peak of losing myself with these overwhelming things and Six adding up to the pile only made me more frustrated.

"And that blond I was talking about. . ." he eyed Five nervously, ". . . the one who chased me out and caused the accident outside Fifth District, and. . ." He gulped. "The one who set our rover on _fire_. . ."

"What?" I repressed myself from cursing as I turned to the unrecognizable man who apparently had his hair dyed.

Five formed a smile. "Caron, at your utmost service."

" _Caron_?" Zero gasped, brows furrowing and grabbing Five by the collar all of a sudden that I saw Six's eyes widening while shaking his head in fright. "That Caron from KAIROS-it was you-how-how could you. . ."

He gasped in deep breaths, and soon after Five stared at him indifferently, he pushed Zero's fist off his shirt.

"You have been in KAIROS, but you never understood that it was PHASe who beat me to death," Five spoke coldly. "High Priestess gave you a chance, Zero. She'd always give you another one if you'd only open your eyes and accept that it wasn't Devil who killed Seven before."

He looked at me grimly, then turned around to stroll off to the other side of the tunnel's opening while pulling up his hood.

As soon as he was meters away, I turned to Six.

_Who killed Evren?_

Zero made his way past Six and I. I ignored him and looked back at Six, who only gaped at me with eyes full of emotions I had no idea what they were before averting toward the tunnel's opening, as he merely exhaled lightly while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Even I don't know who did it," he whispered. "But if there's something I know for tonight, it's _P.IRM11-78_."

I looked at him while mustering the strength to withstand the cold. "I heard the bartender mention it a while back."

"Yeah, a project KAIROS has planned since October. It's related to Five. . . and your friend."

I stared at him.

"She's been in KAIROS' current hideout for years. Do you want to see her?"

I looked away.

 _Do I?_ Even if it meant entering into a territory I've marked as my own enemy through my years of work in PHASe, I didn't know, and thinking of PHASe only made it more complicated.

_But then. . . she is there._

_I wanted to see her, after so many years. . ._

°

"First things first, how are you alive?" Zero demanded on our way to wherever KAIROS' hiding place was. I could hear Six explaining in the most neutral way as possible, but his voice seemed to sound distant the more my mind drifted to my thoughts.

I definitely know to myself it was PHASe's men who attacked us in that club, so heading to KAIROS, and with Five here who was now the new hound of High Priestess that made no sense to me, it would only complicate our ties with PHASe. None of us had any choice right now. I shouldn't be thinking of Seven's death when a whole ass government organization was after us, and that woman who was supposed to shoot me.

_Yeah, you really are doing great. . . Evren's gone._

I hadn't realized I had been staring out the window for a long time, when Zero's angered voice slipped into my mind that made me turn and see him venting out while Six kept on calming him down.

"Her body's left-how is this happening-what if they took her body and-"

"She's _gone_ , Zero!" Six's voice sharpened. "She wasn't here for a long time. Let it sink in."

" _NO!_ " Zero slammed his fist against the window, turning to Six and I only looked away at the sight of his burning face and eyes streaming of tears. "I'M GOING BACK!"

"Zero!" Six's brows furrowed. "You're not going anywhere. Stop hitting the window-"

"It's tempered. He'll be fine." Five turned the wheel, then leaned down to open the small compartment.

"I'M _GETTING_ HER BACK!"

"Do you want to die?" Six fumed angrily.

"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE-"

I turned away from the window after seeing Five hover his arm around and dig something into Zero's thigh in a split second, my eyes widening upon seeing Zero's eyes lull to a close with his body slumping against the seat a moment later, before Five pulled out the syringe and placed it back inside the compartment.

My mouth hangs open slightly, his eyes locking with mine through the front mirror.

"A sleep serum will do no harm to his body. When he wakes up, he'll forget the events that happened for tonight. This is to prevent any _hindrances_."

I looked at Six, who only made a short nod.

Five smiled. "Don't worry much, Four. I haven't brainwashed Six. Just enlightened him with a lot of things."

My brows furrowed. "You better not be lying-"

"He isn't." Six glanced at me through the mirror. "Well, burning the rover is a different thing but, there are things we've been told of which half of them are not true. . . Like, the Starwind twins."

_What?_

"Evren and Nish. There's a deeper level of truth behind. . . behind Evren joining PHASe before, and Nish being recruited into KAIROS after. . . PHASe locked him up. . ." Six said reluctantly. "Right. What Temperance said about Nish is actually true."

"Temperance," I repeated. "Are you sure about this, Six?"

"I confirmed it myself. That's why I filed for leave for a week last mid-spring. I've. . . actually been in contact with Temperance since then."

I stared at the two of them in disbelief. How was he able to keep this a secret from me? He's been investigating into these things, and he sure was lucky PHASe didn't notice and track his whereabouts or else. . .

Five formed a smile, the van then taking to a halt yet I couldn't see anything outside except that it was dark, then I looked back to see him staring at me.

"We're finally here. It would be better if you hear the truth from High Priestess herself. Artemis and I will take care of Zero."

"I'll bring Four to her." Six nodded and opened the door.

I followed out and closed the door shut, about to trail behind Six when Five called out to me, so I turned around to see him still smiling at me as he had his arm rested against the window before waving a hand shortly. I blinked for a moment for I wasn't sure if what I heard from him was right though it was inaudible at first, so I turned away and ran towards Six who was waiting for me by the porch.

I looked up at a four-floor building of a hundred blocks, scanning the area which seemed to be located in a lone subdivision. I lost my ARO, my gun and everything else in that river, so there was nothing left but my clothes soaked in filthy water.

Six pulled up his hood and beckoned me to follow him inside. As we entered the door he pushed open, the interior resembled a lobby yet the lights were all off. But since I was a Wraith, the darkness wasn't a problem for me to adjust my sight as we passed through an arched opening and turned a hallway towards a set of stairs at the end. We descended the steep stairs; only our footsteps could be heard and the silence was killing me with no one else being here, or perhaps I couldn't see them even through those walls which confused me, and that they were actually watching us.

"So you've been here, huh?" I asked in a low whisper, to which he nodded.

"High Priestess would be here soon, so I'll have to bring you somewhere else first."

We reached the third floor, and after passing after some doors, Six stopped. I looked at the door in front of us, and even if it should be past midnight, the door was illumined brightly by the moonlight streaming past the window at the end of the corridor.

"In you go, Enzo."

I stared at the door. My hands wanted to open that handle already, but my mind kept it from moving as it was filling with thoughts of hesitation. . . and fear of what's to happen once I entered that door.

To see that she really is there.

"I'll see you in a bit." He patted me on the shoulder. "She should be awake soon."

_How did you know?_

There was no more from Six, as I sensed him leaving me standing alone in the middle of the hallway as my mind and hand battled between opening the door or not. And in the end, I found myself turning the handle and pushing the door slowly, hearing every creak sending chills down my spine and my heart pounding heavily. Then I made myself inside.

Moonlight streaked in across the floor, towards the foot of the bed for my eyes to land upon a body tucked in a blanket, her eyes rested to a close and her hands laid softly against the mattress. I slowly walked towards her, my heart beating faster and everything in me seemed to stop the moment I saw it really was her.

She was extremely pale, but she was breathing.

I found my fingers looking to brush against her hand. It was soft in spite of it being cold.

There I could feel it. The tears were rolling out of my eyes, every memory I had tonight flashing all at once inside my head, that I couldn't prevent myself from stifling out a sob and shutting my mouth as I cried silently.

I fell to my knees, my hand subconsciously longing for it to be on top of her hand to at least withstand the pain shooting all over my body and down my throat.

" _Y/N_. . ."

I closed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth while sobbing silently.

" _Please, wake up. . . I can't anymore._ "


	14. Somnus

❦

_The noise of the rowdy crowd of students, with the deafening sound of the bell ringing sent my vision flashing to clear at once. I felt the side of my body resting against the lockers as I turned to look at my opened locker, an unknowing instinct bringing me to my senses that I should put the books in my arm inside, so I stuffed them in and closed it slowly. As the locks clicked, I turned my head over my shoulder to scan the surroundings, a hallway filled with students rushing from here to there and most of them lingering around the area._

_I turned around at my senses picking up at a voice calling my name from afar. I turned around; a tall guy was heading towards me with a sling bag strapped across his chest, his pearl white teeth showing up from the beam of his stretched, thick lips, which was in absolute contrast to his chocolate skin and wavy, albicant hair._

_“Ross just handed my E-Tech test back, and guess what?” His brows raised in excitement. “I got a B plus! My dad might send me back to America, and there's a chance for me to pass the Oracle Initiation!”_

_I had no idea what to say, but I made a smile and sent him an encouraging nod as much as I could, and I was expecting him to leave for I didn't know why on earth I was standing in the middle of a high school hallway, but seeing myself in casual clothes this time made sense. Then I looked back up at the male, and a name popped up in my head with my eyes meeting his: Ethan._

_He was now frowning. “She dropped out, by the way.”_

_My brows furrowed, my mind now struggling more to find out whom he was talking about, even more with the annoying noise of the people around and the unnecessary slamming of lockers nearby. “What?”_

_“Haven't you found out yet?”_

_When he saw I still didn't get it, which I really didn't, he sighed and looked at me with eyes filled with a hint of loneliness while his hands wrapped around the sling of his bag tightly._

_“Evren. She left six days ago."_

_Huh?_

_"Before she moved out of the country, she told me she called you last night, but you weren't answering. She said she had to go with her clan for they had to move again, and she won't be able to pay the requirements.” He exhaled deeply, eyes staring at the ceiling before glancing back at me. “And since I aced the test, I'll have to leave the country too and continue the semester in the U.S. which means. . .”_

_I stared at him. The way he talked was sending me a familiar feeling, reminding me of someone. And he even said Evren._

_Evren—so I knew her then? But that was just. . . impossible._

_I wasn't able to go on with thinking about it for he groaned playfully and cried, crushing me into a hug to my surprise. I felt my bones almost cracking and my breathing becoming narrow when he squeezed me tighter._

_“I'm gonna miss you! I don't want to leave cause you'll be alone and—”_

_“E—Ethan—” I stuttered while inhaling deeply after he pulled me away with his lips pouting. “Okay, it's fine. Okay? And why—what happened, uh, last night?”_

_I blinked, feeling my senses ring at the sound of the crowd's noise fading and then being replaced by silence._

_Ethan's face vanished and now I was staring at the still cement which was illumined by the dim light from the lamppost. All I could hear was the crickets buzzing as the humid air seeps into the sweat trickling down my body, my heart beating a little fast. It seemed like I had taken a jog in the evening, and as I looked down at my wristwatch to see it was exactly twenty-three o'clock, my ears perked up upon hearing footsteps coming near._

_I looked up to watch the dark figure of the stranger approach me, and soon as he emerged into the light, I could feel my heart pounding faster and my body warming even more as his almond eyes locked with mine, I could not take my eyes off of them despite them shaded under the rim of his hood._

_They are just. . . beautiful._

_“Hey." His lips pressed into a thin line and his face overall looked stone-faced, which was not a surprise from him._

_Seeing him only had my lips curving to the side in amusement, I then sliding my hands into the pockets of my sweatshirt before gesturing for him to follow me as we strolled up the sidewalk. Our footsteps were even silent and all I could hear was my own heart beating while we walked side by side through the quiet and empty streets in the outskirts of Venice. As long as I knew he was here with me, I couldn't help at the feeling of being restless and relaxed at once. It was confusing, and frustrating most of the time—I didn't know what I was actually feeling about him._

_Then memories, though as vague as they were, were gradually finding their way back into my mind for me to process through them and remember that one certain moment where I spilled the cafeteria food on the guy's clothes before dragging him out of the crowd, even though I received a one-hour detention after class. It was kind of worth it, and I was able to make a friend._

_I peeked through my peripheral, seeing him staring at the road straight ahead, still as silent as ever. It was weird to know he was the one to approach me the next day, and that was when I found out he was able to understand Italian a little, but he insisted we communicate in English instead. I enjoyed talking to him—well, I mostly talked to myself and he would only listen and speak with little to one word but it was bearable. I had no idea if he ever was annoyed at me for talking with a lot of things and singing out of tune, even with mispronounced lyrics whenever I got bored, but he never said he was annoyed. Of course I'd assume to go on with what I do._

_“Y/N.”_

_His voice was kind of inaudible, but I managed to hear it. I turned my head to look at him, giving me a chance of mesmerizing a full view of his side profile. He was just so perfect, and I didn't understand why he'd long to have a life like mine when he grew up with a supporting brother. I looked away and smiled. “Can't believe we're pulling the night through to a club when we've got classes tomorrow.”_

_“We're still minors."_

_“I told you I have our IDs done well. Paid Ethan for it and he doesn't know about this, so chill.”_

_“Ethan?”_

_I looked to the side. “He left last week. Too bad you didn't get to meet him.”_

_Silence._

_I took a deep breath and smiled. “It's actually the last favor I asked so I assure you things'll be fine.”_

_“I already told you I don't want to get in trouble.”_

_“Oh, honey,” I chuckled, “we're at the verge of getting in trouble. And you yourself just said yes to me so there's no turning back 'cause I hate people who don't keep their word."_

_He went silent for a while, then I heard him huff. “Fine.”_

_I grinned. “That's my Enzo.”_

_I saw him avoiding my eyes, and I could see him blushing of what I said before we took to a stop in front of a lone 24-hour convenience store. I pushed the door open and slipped in with Enzo following behind, then I pulled out two bottles from the racks and went over the cashier. It was a woman around thirties, who eyed us warily as grabbed the scanning device and held its laser up straight in front of my irises. I could see Enzo glancing at me nervously through my peripheral._

_“Young people nowadays,” the cashier lady mumbled a curse in Italian, “even roaming the streets at this hour?"_

_There was a buzz, then soon after a blinking light emitted green before she went scanning Enzo._

_A few seconds passed. Soon after everything went as smooth as expected and I found the two of us leaving the store, I set for a run towards the park, hearing Enzo shouting at me to wait for him. I only laughed and breathed in the gust of cold wind hitting my face while turning my head over my shoulder._

_“Chase me!”_

_“I'm not a damn athlete—stop running!"_

_“Then work your legs out more then!”_

_What I knew was I was just running across the field, for I didn't see a fallen twig ahead of me. I yelped and tripped, my body plunging towards the ground with pain shooting around my ankles._

_“Ugh, crap.”_

_“Y/N!"_

_I saw him running faster and despite the sprain on my ankle as I rose from the ground, he had already made it and crouched down after dropping the bag with a clunk. I couldn't prevent my heart beating so fast the moment I felt his hand lifting my foot gently while slowly removing my shoe. My eyes lifted up, seeing his brows furrowed that formed a deep crease between them. Then he turned to the bag and pulled out a bottle, eyes glancing up at me for a second before pressing the glass against the sprain._

_“The beer isn't cold enough." He brought the bottle down, closing his eyes and sighing. “Why do you have to be so reckless?”_

_“At least it's just a twig,” I told him with a goofy grin, to which he returned a glare._

_Silence passed for a moment between us and I was feeling better though the sprain was still there, because of his hand laid on top of my foot. It sent me a different feeling. It wasn't just warmth. It was something no one, not even I, could explain. All I knew was I wanted to feel the presence of his touch. I liked it, and I only hoped it wasn't a bad thing._

_I slowly brought my hand up to his forehead. He seemed surprised for he looked at me just as I pressed my thumb against the crease and massaged it upwards. “Raise your brows instead. Furrowing them increases the chance of your face to age faster."_

_“You're technically saying I should smile instead.”_

_I smiled. “It makes you more handsome."_

_He looked away. His cheeks were dusting of faint red but he looked down while inserting my foot into my shoe. “You're injured. I'll take you home.”_

_“But what about the—”_

_“There's always a next time.”_

_“What if there's none anymore?”_

_I looked down to the side the moment he looked back at me. There was no response coming from him, and I took a guess that he was at the peak of venting his annoyance out at me but only silence was what I received._

_“. . . Over the past few days. . . I like your company. . . to be honest.”_

_I was hearing myself speaking though inside, I was more than afraid. I didn't want to do this since then, after hearing that Evren left the institute without hearing any news from her since last week. I kept on losing everyone, and with Ethan leaving as well, I was scared if one day. . . Enzo would, too._

_I was about to stop and tell it was time to go then, but as soon as I turned my head towards him, he began to sing softly._

_I didn't know he could sing well._

_Didn't I. . . hum that to him before?_

_I felt my eyes lulling to a close, but my mind seemed to be driven neither by exhaust nor somnus._

As everything around me swirls into pitch black, his voice was sounding deeper, huskier, although it sounded like he was sobbing. My senses felt like coming back as if a whole new life had been breathed into a body once again, everything inside of me regenerating as I felt the soft surface of a mattress underneath my back.

I could hear him clearly, and I could feel his hand resting on top of mine. That was when my eyes opened to meet with moonlight seeping into my clouded vision of forming tears as I heard him crying. . . and calling out my name.

I felt so alive despite the thought of not knowing where I was, for one thing I knew. . . was that I was here.

And I remember now.

“Please. . . Wake up. . . I can't anymore. . .”

_Four?_

My hand began to fidget, as if having an instinct of moving on themselves for his sobs softened, silence filling the room for a moment before his lowered head slowly lifted up with his eyes clouded in tears locking with mine. The same feeling—it was all coming back as his obsidian hues shone by the moonlight behind desperately looked to see through my teary eyes. I slowly rose and leaned forward, our eyes still gazing into each other as the eternal longing that had been trapped in our hearts broke free.

As he stared at me with his hand reaching up to touch my face, I couldn't help but close my eyes while holding his hand, a weak smile barely lifting up the side of my lips. All this time. . . We've actually known each other. It just happened that I was lost, a soul led astray. And I knew it myself that he had been lost too. I didn't know what to feel at the sight of him still crying, and maybe it was because of him seeing Evren's body being shot again. Now I didn't know whether I'd tell him. . . that I was the one in her body.

“Y/N." He whispered with a shaky voice, eyes looking down to the side. “I. . .”

“Enzo.” My voice croaked, making him look back at me, but he began to inch closer and I wasn't anticipating it for he seemed too lonely. No, he was grieving Evren's death, although my heart did scream for it. I felt his fingers sliding through my hair before he pulled me close, hugging me tight.

_He's only doing this out of grief. He needed a distraction. . ._

I only closed my eyes, the pain throbbing inside me making the tears roll out more as I dug my face into his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name for Ethan is tentative until his true name is revealed in the canon. (It's Operative Three by the way)


	15. Pretenses

❦

I couldn't hold it, for I slightly pulled away and pushed him back, my eyes lowering and I could feel him looking at me for a moment, before I felt his fingers retract from my hair and his hand leaving mine. I hadn't realized the room had gotten even colder with the awkward moment of silence forming between the two of us, that I held my arms and stared down at the floor.

After a few seconds, I slowly turned my head to see him now sitting a few feet apart from where I sat, and that was when I noticed that the reason why I felt colder was because his clothes seemed to be soaked wet. I had no idea how he got here and knew where my body had been. It all confused me, for the only thing I remembered was being shot by whoever that person was. . . and then those dreams that seemed too impossible to be merely dreams.

“Ha. . . I—" he buried his face in his hands, "I shouldn't have done that—"

“It's fine." I formed a weak smile, making him look up to return my gaze. We still had our eyes dwelled in tears, but now with his face facing the moonlight, I could see him clearly, and his eyes—they had more than what I had caught for a second as melancholy.

There was something else.

“You're lonely. I am too.”

“What makes you think I'm even—”

“Evren died," I whispered, feeling my own figure shrink. I looked away into the shadows; now I could feel his stare become more intense as I caught onto his eyes sharpening with a defiant gaze through my peripheral. “I saw it with my own two eyes. . . I was in her body all this time. And I've actually known her for a long time, even before I met you."

He seemed obviously surprised at me mentioning Evren. “What?”

"Operative Four, isn't it?" I felt my heart pounding, but I knew there was no other time for delay. “You aimed your gun at me, brought me to your room, bought me waffles, and the song I hummed. . . that Seven you've met the last two nights. . .”

I glanced back to see him staring at me in disbelief, and yet I didn't care whether he'd believe me or not before I averted.

“. . . It was _me_ , Enzo.”

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes.

“It's hard to imagine. Even I didn't know how on earth I got into her body. My memories. . . they only came back before I woke up in my body—" I glanced around "—what is this place?"

“KAIROS' headquarters."

 _KAIROS? What are we doing in the enemy's_ —I blinked for a moment, thinking I caught onto a static inside my head for a vision flashed briefly.

It was brief like a glitch of red outlines of a group of people closing in towards me, yet my mind was soon interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. I turned to see Enzo opening it where the figure of Six appeared. The Specter's eyes darted towards me for a moment before he raised his brows toward Enzo, who only looked away and widened his eyes when a woman followed inside.

I didn't know what caused him to look so shocked and seemingly angered, but with the lady's undermining presence that it somehow radiated a similar aura to Six, I confirmed it right when Six turned as soon as he felt her presence. I moved out of the bed and stood my guard.

“I see the test is over,” she spoke in thick British accent, placing her hand on her hips while curving up a grin. “Pri won't be pleased it ended too soon.”

“If you'd like to explain what you're talking about so it'd at least make sense to us, how about that, Tempie?" Six mused half-heartedly. “This P.IRM11-78's been floating around for too long.”

“As you say so, but I'd much appreciate if you give your friend some new clothes for a while as I bring Y/N to Pri."

I noticed Enzo turn to me in surprise, then back to Temperance, his brows furrowing.

"Do not fret, Operative Four. She'll be in good hands, I assure you that.” She sent me a glance, before turning away to leave the door and disappear. “Follow me when you're ready dear.”

I was about to walk out, but Enzo suddenly took my wrist that made me turn to him and feel my heart beating erratically especially after what just happened a while ago. I could still feel the feeling of his body, his arms around me, and the more I thought about it, the more I hated myself at the feeling of wanting it to happen again.

I noticed Six set his hand on Enzo's shoulder. “She's gonna be okay."

Enzo slightly turned his head. “We're sending her alone with a KAIROS leader.”

“They are the ones who saved her from PHASe.”

My eyes widened, for I suddenly thought of that abrupt vision of people in my mind before looking at Six as Enzo also seemed shocked of what Six just said. “What do you mean?”

“If you wanna know the truth, you should trust Temperance. There's a reason why you're alive right now. Why the three of us are.”

“I still don't trust them, Six." I realized Enzo was still holding my wrist, then my eyes met with his when he glanced back at me. “I'm going with her.”

“But your clothes—"

"There's no time for that."

Six stared at the two of us, pressing his lips into a thin line and then sighing in defeat. He shook his head and closed his eyes before turning away from us. “Really now. . . Follow me then.”

He disappeared out the room, and that was when I felt Enzo's hand intertwine with mine that it only made my cheeks heat up as I looked at him staring at me intently.

“W-What?”

He didn't say anything; it felt like he was looking for something beyond my eyes, and I was only thankful that he turned away and pulled me along although he was still holding my hand as we left the room. Six glanced down at our hands the moment we joined him, and I swore I saw a flashy grin in his face but he already slipped ahead through the darkness behind Temperance.

The woman eyed me and Enzo, then after a moment I could hear her chuckling and whispering something to herself. I didn't seem to mind however, because the way Enzo was holding my hand felt as if he didn't want to let go with how firm his grip was.

_I didn't want to let go either._

After everything that happened, I was so sure of myself that I'm never letting anyone get hurt again. I had no idea what reason it may be behind all of this, and the members of Alpha. . . I had only met them for two days, but I was feeling worried of what they might think if they ever found out the truth. I couldn't go on further with my mind thinking of it that my eyes had themselves lost ahead of the silent corridors, yet they appeared to be less worse than the ones in PHASe.

I felt Enzo squeezing my hand, making me look at him. He was eyeing me in concern, but I only averted for the fact that I didn't want to assume he was being worried of me, because of me, and not because I was tied to Evren. I didn't know what to think anymore.

We stopped in front of a double door, where Temperance slipped through the shadows, followed by Six and soon the doors opened after.

Enzo led me inside, and this time there was light in the room although it was dim. My eyes immediately darted towards a pale-skinned lady resting on the couch. She noticed Enzo's presence first, then jolted off the chair when her eyes drifted towards my side where Temperance and Six began to move and then towards me.

“It's really her, Artemis." Temperance smiled. “You may take your seat.”

“ _Why is he here_?”

I turned towards another woman standing by the window, who turned around to face the rest of us with her high composure and elegant suit of turquoise and white sending me a thought that she was the Dragon herself. And it only made it worse when I noticed that she was sending Enzo a cold stare.

Temperance placed her hand on her hips, trying to remain calm. “I have already suggested Operative Six to take care of Operative Four. The Wraith seemed too eager to make sure Y/N won't be in any danger, I suppose—”

“I told you that _he_ should not be here. I wasn't implying a suggestion,” High Priestess said irritably, eyeing Six for a moment before glancing at me. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise, I had to look somewhere else. “Where's Zero?”

“Caron's taking care of him, madam,” Artemis responded.

“It's Five,” Enzo whispered enough for me to hear that made it harder for me to repress the shock and not move a single inch.

I watched High Priestess nod briefly, eyes still gazing out the window after with her arms crossed. There was something undermining in the air when Artemis approached her with Temperance joining in and communicated with her in hushed tones. Whatever reason it was for the Dragon to act that way towards Enzo, it was not my place to find out for I had something more important to know. I was about to get caught in my own thoughts of confusion of High Priestess not saying anything else but Six suddenly walked up to us, whose usual playful grin seemed to have disappeared drastically as he was looking at us in worry after sparing the two KAIROS leaders a glance.

“I know we're in neutral ties, but she won't be talking further if you'll stay here.”

Enzo's brows furrowed. “Why couldn't she just move on with me killing Icar—”

“We still have to respect them.”

“No. You tell me who you're siding with now Remy!”

_Remy?_

Six eyed me for a second, then stared at Enzo indifferently. For the last time I've seen them together, I knew they had a bond between them almost as brothers, and seeing an uprising tension between them only caused me to place my hand on Enzo's arm which cut their gazes off each other. His eyes softened as he looked at me, while Six suddenly turned away from us and left the room quiescently it looked as if he vanished along with the shadows.

“Go after him. I'll be okay,” I told him calmly, feeling his arm become less tense even though he was looking down at the floor. “Enzo. Look at me.”

He did, even if it seemed a bit forced.

“Your words that come out of your mouth mean a lot of things. I don't want to say something that'll hurt other people, there'll always be another way to show the truth in front of them. I hope you consider that.”

He remained silent, but he didn't let go of my hand or showed any sign of oppression.

He placed his hand over mine that was holding his arm as he closed his eyes and sighed.

“This is why I don't want to leave you. You're too caring for me.”

“I know, and I'm thankful that you're the same to me.” I formed a smile when he finally looked at me. “But you should go after someone who cares for you as well.”

I slipped my hands away from him to imply that he should go, but he only held onto them tighter that made my heart beat more.

He brought them up to kiss them lightly. It went on for a moment and I didn't know what to feel at the possible thought of High Priestess, Temperance and Artemis watching us. He brought them down slowly before holding my cheek gently, staring at me to show that he really didn't want to leave, but of course, he did. He had to, and soon I felt empty at the absence of his touch when he darted out of the room and disappeared after looking at me one last time.

"Ooh, cheesy~”

I turned around, forcing myself to hide the blush dusting my cheeks but I only felt more flustered with Temperance smirking at me. The embarrassment was far humiliating but it instantly faded when High Priestess rounded the desk, slowly walking towards me while her eyes remained focused in piercing through mine.

I heard the door close shut that made me startle, step back and turn around, a sense of panic rising inside of me.

_What's going on?_

“Your body still hasn't developed to its full potential, but it's already a success.” High Priestess chuckled lowly. “Her body is just a preliminary to P.IRM11-78.”

I turned back to face her, seeing Temperance and Artemis show up from behind and realize of the red lines of figures closing in through my vision before, only making me panic more now that I made another mistake.

_Enzo._

My mind began to spin in a state of dilemma and fear of my back pressing against the doors as I caught onto a syringe being pulled out by her.

“You know what it means?” She smiled. “Project Interim of November 2078. The month Evren died. The same month you've been killed off by PHASe years prior. Of course we wouldn't want such a powerful operative to go into waste. That is why your soul has been successfully transferred to her body, a process of interim before we fully take over Olympia.”

I stared at her wide-eyed, a mixed surge of pure rage dwelling inside of me. “How could you. . .”

“No, Y/N. I had to. You are just one in some of PHASe's operatives I have spared tonight, as to why Operative Eight has already been terminated beforehand, he couldn't make it on the way here.”

_What?_

_Eight is. . . dead?_

“You are the key to the fall of PHASe. The entire government itself. Everything they did is a mere cause of now's result, so the only thing I could ask of you, Y/N, is to cooperate.”

She held the syringe out, making me clench my fists in disapproval but I bit my tongue and tightened my jaws. I need to find Enzo and the others, to find a way out of here.

“Just one injection, Y/N. It'll be all over—"

I flicked a knife out from my pocket and jerked it against the syringe, causing it to fall out of High Priestess' hands and the liquid spurting across the floor.

They looked at me in different expressions; with Artemis seething in passive aggressive annoyance and Temperance's smirk disappeared, it was now High Priestess who looked unconcerned of my disapproval as she frowned.

She nudged her head to the side. “Time to shine, Seeker.”

My eyes shifted from side to side.

I stood my guard as soon as Temperance and High Priestess backed away towards the window that sent me a signal of ducking, Artemis' abrupt kick having her heels stuck into the wall.

“Get back here!” I shouted in fury towards the two KAIROS leaders, but all I faced was the curtain being whipped by the wind and the morning rain sprinkling across my face.

_How on earth did they disappear through this damn window just like that?_

I startled at the sound of crashing debris and falling wardrobes. Turning around, Artemis was beyond angered and it meant one thing upon seeing the door being blocked.

“So you want to play sloppy?” she hissed in a raspy voice. “There's a reason why I'm called the Seeker, but you're lucky that I'm doing this nice and fair. All those pretentious sidings with those puny operatives for _nothing_."

She spat, pausing for a moment and then vaulting up the upturned desk to charge towards me. I braced myself to sprint towards the edge of the room to look for a way out, and soon as her grasp onto my hair slipped off, I immediately pushed the wheeled chair towards her, the edge of it crashing against her stomach.

"You might still see them, Y/N. You'll see their _dead bodies_ right in front of you!”

I heard her groan as I climbed up the windowsill, feeling the whoosh of the cold wind hit my face and my heart pounding fast at the sight of the ground three floors below. I whipped my head around to see her already risen up, sprinting towards me. I let out a curse after she grabbed the foot I kicked, my body plunging downwards. “Sh—!”

“Stop ruining our plans!” she shrieked and threw a punch that I blocked with my arms, pain shooting all over, but I kicked back and kept on flailing for her to lose balance when my knee hit her abdomen. I rose from the ground and sent a blow to the side of her neck with my elbow despite the numbness on my forearms.

As I scrambled on my feet, it seemed like she was at the brink of recovering, but the blow I sent her was more than enough to keep her paralyzed.

I vaulted myself up here on the windowsill again. I had no other choice but to move out and find the others before it's too late.


End file.
